1.2
Geography and Political Status
Bikini
Atoll
Hawaii, at 11°35'N,
total
mi.)
is
located
165 25'E.
4,000
km
(2,500
It comprises
a
miles)
ring of 23
southwest
islands
of
with a
land area of 8.8 km@ (3.4 square miles), including 1.6 km@ (0.6 sq.
of intertidal area (Figure 2, Table 1).
The lagoon of 630 km@
(240 sq. mi.) has an average depth of 45 m (145 feet); the maximum depth is
58 m.
Of the 23 islands, only Bikini
(2.41 km?) and, to a much lesser
- degree, nearby Eneu (1.22 km”) have been inhabited.
In fact, they are the
only islands that are physically suited for permanent settlement; all
the
others are too small and too low to be safe from inundation during times of
high wave and storm activity.
The geological
atoll
structure of Bikini
Atoll
resting on a submerged volcanic mass.
is that of a coral reef
The islands are made of reef
debris, primarily of sand and gravel size, and reef organisms.
continuously
islands
being
and
the
built
passes
and
that
eroded,
but
under
connect lagoon
and
present
ocean
The reef is
conditions
are
fairly
the
stable
(Appendix A).
The
Islands.
other
atoll
is
coconut
in
appearance
to
others
in
The principal islands of Bikini and Eneu, as well
smaller ones,
supports
similar
a
are thickly covered with vegetation.
variety of plants,
plantations
over most
shrubby thickets
of
other food plants can be grown,
the
two
the
Marshall
as many of the
The sandy soil
along exposed coasts, and
larger
islands.
A variety of
but because of the long dry season,
they
are not likely to become staples (Appendix B).
Bikini
Atoll
which has a total
is
part
of the
land area of about 170 km@
roughly 700,000 km2 of the central
Islands,
Republic
of
the Marshall Islands,
(66 sq. mi.) scattered over
Pacific Ocean (Figure 1).
together with the Caroline and Northern Mariana
the Trust Territory of the
administered
9000012
since
1947
|
:
Pacific
under
a
Islands,
Trusteeship
13
which
the
Agreement
The Marshall
Islands, comprise
United
with
States
the
has
United