NASA astronaut image of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Territory of Australia) in the Indian Ocean [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

The Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia. There are two atolls and twenty-seven coral islands in the group. The islands are located in the Indian Ocean, approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka. North Keeling Island is an atoll consisting of just one C-shaped island, a nearly closed atoll ring with a small opening into the lagoon, about 50 metres (160 ft) wide, on the east side. The island measures 1.1 square kilometres (270 acres) in land area and is uninhabited. The lagoon is about 0.5 square kilometres (120 acres). North Keeling Island and the surrounding sea to 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from shore form the Pulu Keeling National Park, established on 12 December 1995. It is home to the only surviving population of the endemic, and endangered, Cocos Buff-banded Rail. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA Astronaut Image of Long Island [STS055-73-38] [ Image courtesy of Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center ]

Long Island is an island in the Bahamas that is split by the Tropic of Cancer. Its capital is Clarence Town. Long Island is one of the Districts of the Bahamas and is known as the most scenic island in the Bahamas. The population is roughly 4,000 inhabitants. The northeast side of Long Island is noted for its steep rocky headlands, while the southwest coast is noted for its broad white beaches with soft sand. The terrain ranges widely throughout the island, including white flat expanses from which salt is extracted, swamplands, beaches, and sloping (in the north) and low (in the south) hills. Long Island is particularly noted for its caves, which have played a major role in the island's history. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA Astronaut Image of Serrana Bank [STS080-718-46.jpg] [ Image courtesy of Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center ]

Its mostly underwater reef of about 50 km long and 13 km wide has numerous cays and islets, the most prominent of which is Southwest Cay. Serrana Bank is Colombian territory, though it was claimed and occupied by the United States until 1981. A former base for the US military, they are now mostly visited by lobster fishermen. Serrana Bank is believed to be named after the Spanish castaway Pedro Serrano. It was first shown on a Dutch map in 1545 with this name. They were mapped more extensively by the British in 1660. On September 8, 1972, the United States and Colombia signed a treaty recognizing the latter's sovereignty over Quita Sueño Bank, Roncador Cay and Serrana Bank. This treaty became effective on September 17, 1981. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA Astronaut Image of Aitutaki [ISS006-E-38667.jpg] [ Image courtesy of Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center ]

Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura, Ararau and Utataki, is one of the Cook Islands, north of Rarotonga. It has a population of approximately 2,000. Aitutaki is the second most visited island of the Cook Islands. The capital (main village) is Arutanga (Arutunga) on the west side. It has a maximum elevation of approximately 123 metres with the hill known as Maunga Pu close to its northernmost point. The land area of the atoll is 18.05 km², of which the main island occupies 16.8 km². The Ootu Peninsula, protruding east from the main island in a southerly direction along the eastern rim of the reef, takes up 1.75 km² out of these 16.8 km² for the main island. For the lagoon, area figures between 50 and 74 km² are found. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Satellite image of Suwarrow. Anchorage Island is immediately west of the lagoon's entrance. [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Suwarrow (also called Suvorov, Suvarou, or Suvarov) is a low coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is about 1,300 km south of the equator and 930 km NNW of Rarotonga, from which it is administered. The atoll was inhabited by Polynesians during prehistory. It was uninhabited when discovered by the Russian ship Suvorov, which reportedly followed clouds of birds to the island on September 17, 1814. (The ship was named after Russian general Alexander Suvorov, who appears as "Suwarrow" in Lord Byron's epic poem Don Juan.) It has been only intermittently inhabited since. The Island name has also been spelled variously as Souvorow, Souwaroff, and Souworoff. "Suwarrow" is the official spelling adopted by New Zealand. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

The atoll of Nukuoro, a polynesian exclave in the Federated States of Micronesia. The image shows the sandy atoll with 42 distinct patches of vegetation. [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

It is a municipality of the state of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Except for Kapingamarangi, it is the southermost atoll of the country. Nukuoro has a population of 372 (as of 2007), though several hundred Nukuorans live on Pohnpei. The total area, including the lagoon, is 40 km², with a land area of only 1.7 km², which is divided among more than 40 islets that lie on the northern, eastern and southern sides of the lagoon. By far the largest islet is Nukuoro islet, which is the center of population and the capital of the municipality. The inhabitants speak Nukuoro language, which is closely related to the Kapingamarangi language and is a Polynesian dialect related to Samoan and Tokelauan. Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi constitute parts of the "Polynesian outlier" cultures lying well outside the Polynesian Triangle. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA World Wind screenshot (two of them pieced together vertically) of Bassas da India Atoll (French Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean). [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Bassas da India (also called Basse de Judie) is an uninhabited, roughly circular atoll about 10 km (6 mi) in diameter, which corresponds to a total size (including lagoon) of 80 km2 (31 sq mi). It is located in the southern Mozambique Channel, about half-way between Madagascar (which is 385 km (239 mi) to the east) and Mozambique, and 110 km (68 mi) northwest of Europa Island. It rises steeply from the seabed 3000 m below. The reef rim averages around 100 m across and completely encloses a shallow lagoon that has a maximum depth of 15 m Its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 123,700 km2 (47,761 sq mi) is contiguous with that of Europa Island. The atoll consists of ten barren rocky islets, with no vegetation, totalling 0.2 km² (.077 sq mi) in area. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA astronaut image of Mururoa Atoll (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia) in the Pacific Ocean [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Even though ancient Polynesians knew Mururoa Atoll by the ancestral name of Hiti-Tautau-Mai, there is no firm historical evidence that it has been permanently inhabited. The first recorded European to visit this atoll was Commander Philip Carteret on HMS Swallow in 1767, just a few days after he had discovered Pitcairn. Carteret named Mururoa "Bishop of Osnaburgh Island". Mururoa, and its sister atoll Fangataufa, were the site of extensive nuclear testing by France between 1966 and 1996, as well as the site of numerous protests by various vessels, including the Rainbow Warrior. The atoll was officially established as a nuclear test site by France on September 21, 1962, with the construction of various infrastructures commencing in May 1963. The Direction des Centres d'Experimentation Nucleaires (DIRCEN) was made responsible for the firing of the nuclear shots. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA Astronaut Image of Rangiroa [STS080-750-76_2.jpg] [ Image courtesy of Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center ]

Rangiroa (meaning Vast Sky in Tuamotuan) or Te Kokōta (Hyades in Māori), is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus, and one of the largest in the world (although it is smaller than Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands and Huvadhu in the Maldives). It is part of the Palliser group. The nearest atoll is Tikehau, located only 12 km to the West. It is about 355 km Northeast of Tahiti. The atoll consists of about 415 motus, islets and sandbars comprising a total land area of about 170 km². There are approximately one hundred narrow passages (passes), called r'oa, in the fringing reef. The atoll has a flattened elliptic shape, with 80 km in length and a width ranging from 5 to 32 km wide. The width of land reaches 300 to 500 meters wide and its circumference totals up to 200 km. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA Astronaut Image of Uturoa [STS068-258-45.jpg] [ Image courtesy of Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center ]

Uturoa is a commune (municipality) of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Uturoa is located on the island of Raiatea, in the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands of which Uturoa is the administrative capital. The Leeward Islands are themselves part of the Society Islands. Uturoa is the main port of Raiatea Island. At the August 2007 census the urban area of Uturoa had 8,735 inhabitants, 3,778 of which lived in the commune of Uturoa proper. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

USGS-Landsat7-Satellitenbild der French Frigate Shoals, Nordwestliche Hawaii-Inseln [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

The French Frigate Shoals (Hawaiian: Kānemilohaʻi) is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals. It consists of a 20-mile (32 km) long crescent-shaped reef, twelve sandbars, and the 120-foot (37 m) high La perouse pinnacle, the only remnant of its volcanic origins. The total land area of the islets is 61.508 acres (248,910 m2). Total coral reef area of the shoals is over 232,000 acres (940 km2). Tern Island, with an area of 26.014 acres (105,270 m2), has a landing strip and permanent habitations for a small number of people. It is maintained as a field station in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA Astronaut Image of Midway Atoll [STS055-82-63_2] [ Image courtesy of Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center ]

Midway Atollis a 2.4-square-mile (6.2 km²) atoll located in the North Pacific Ocean (near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago), about one-third of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo. Midway Atoll is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States. It is less than 140 nautical miles (259 km; 161 mi) east of the International Date Line, about 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) west of San Francisco, and 2,200 nautical miles (4,100 km; 2,500 mi) east of Tokyo. It consists of a ring-shaped barrier reef and several sand islets. The two significant pieces of land, Sand Island and Eastern Island, provide habitat for millions of seabirds. The island sizes are shown here: Midway, as its name suggests, lies nearly halfway between North America and Asia, and halfway around the world from Greenwich, England. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands – Satellite image from USGS' Landsat7 Satellite [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

The Pearl and Hermes Atoll (Hawaiian: Holoikauaua), is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Named after two English whaleships, the Pearl and the Hermes, that wrecked there in 1822, a few, small, sandy islands exist, contained within a lagoon and surrounded by a coral reef. These islands are devoid of vegetation, except for several species of grasses. The total land area of all its islets is 88.952 acres (35.998 ha). The atoll had its greatest importance within the pearl trade. In 1927, Captain William Greig Anderson was fishing for tuna and in the process, discovered pearl beds within the lagoon. This opened up the first commercial activity within the atoll, but the pearl trade lasted for only a few years. The Hawaiian government later prohibited commercial activity and declared the area to be a bird sanctuary. In June 2006, George W. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Canton Island – NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Kanton Island (also known as Canton Island or Abariringa Island), alternatively known as "Mary Island", "Mary Balcout's Island" or "Swallow Island", is the largest, northernmost, and as of 2007, the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. The island is a narrow ribbon of land enclosing a lagoon with an area of 40 square kilometers. Kanton's closest neighbor is the uninhabited island of Enderbury, 63 km to the south. The capital of Kiribati, South Tarawa, lies 1,765 km to the west. As of 2005, the population was 41, down from 61 in 2000. In May 2010 the population was reportedly 24, with 14 adults and 10 children. The island's sole village is called Tebaronga. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA World Wind screenshot of Orona Atoll, Phoenix Islands, Kiribati [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Orona atoll, also known as Hull Island, is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. measures approximately 8.8 km by 4 km, and like Kanton, is a narrow ribbon of land surrounding a sizable lagoon with depths of 15-20 meters. Numerous passages connect the lagoon to the surrounding ocean, only a couple of which will admit even a small boat. Total land area is 3.9 sq. km, and the maximum elevation is nine meters. Like Manra, Orona is covered with coconut palms (mostly on the western side), towering 12-18 meters above the surface. The remainder of the atoll is covered with scrub forest, herbs and grasses, with a maximum height of 6-12 meters. Feral cats exist on the island, together with rats, pigs and dogs. Ducks and chickens were rasied by the former inhabitants, but it is unknown whether any remain. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Bikini Atoll – NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Bikini Atoll (also known as Pikinni Atoll) is a World Heritage listed atoll in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands. It consists of 23 islands surrounding a deep 229.4-square-mile (594.1 km2) central lagoon, at the northern end of the Ralik Chain (approximately 87 kilometres (54 mi) northwest of Ailinginae Atoll and 850 kilometres (530 mi) northwest of Majuro), now universally significant to the worldas follows: The first Westerner to see the atoll, in mid-1820s, was the German navigator and explorer Otto von Kotzebue, who named the atoll Eschscholtz Atoll after the Russian scientist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz. The atoll, however, has always been called Bikini by the native Marshall Islanders, from Marshallese "Pik" meaning "surface" and "Ni" meaning "coconut". (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Bokak Atoll, Marshall Islands – NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Due to its relative isolation from the main islands in the group, Bokak has an undisturbed flora and fauna that has been allowed to exist in a pristine condition. It is located 425 miles (684 km) north of Majuro Atoll, the capital of the Marshall Islands, and 174 miles (280 km) northeast of Bikar Atoll, the closest atoll, making it the most northerly and most isolated atoll of the country. Wake Island is 348 miles (560 km) north-northwest. The land area is 1.25 square miles (3.2 km2), and the lagoon measures 30.12 square miles (78.0 km2). It consists of 36 islets.The total area is 49.8 square miles (129 km2) (including reef flat). The lagoon water level is up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) higher than the surrounding ocean due to an influx of wind-driven waters over the windward ocean reef and the presence of only one narrow reef passage on the leeward side. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Kwajalein Atoll – NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Kwajalein Atoll, is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, nicknamed Kwaj () by English-speaking residents of the U.S. facilities. Kwajalein is one of the world's largest coral atolls as measured by area of enclosed water. Comprising 97 islands and islets, it has a land area of 16.4 km² (6.33 mi²), and surrounds one of the largest lagoons in the world, with an area of 2174 km² (839 mi²). Kwajalein Island is the southernmost, and the largest, of the islands in the Kwajalein atoll. The northernmost, and second largest, island is Roi-Namur. The population of Kwajalein islet is currently below 1,000 individuals, mostly Americans and a small number of Marshall Islanders and other nationals, all of whom have express permission from the U.S. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Rongerik Atoll – NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Rongerik Atoll (also known as Rongdrik Atoll or Roñdik Atoll) is a coral atoll of 17 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and is located in the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Bikini Atoll. Its total land area is only 1.68 square kilometres (0.65 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon of 144 square kilometres (56 sq mi). Rongerik Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan, although the island was uninhabited. Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA astronaut image of Farquhar Atoll (Seychelles) in the Indian Ocean [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

The Farquhar Atoll is part of the Farquhar Group of islands in the Seychelles that are part of the Outer Islands. From 1965 to the independence of the Seychelles in 1976, they were a part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The total area of the atoll, including the large lagoon, is 170.5 km². The land area is 7.5 km². Farquhar is notable for its high sand dunes, some of which reach to over ten metres in height. The atoll is located about 770 km from Mahé and is the most southerly part of the Seychelles. It was discovered in 1501 by the Portuguese navigator, João da Nova. The main group of islands form a long curve which describes the eastern side of the atoll. Largest of these are Ile du Nord and Ile du Sud, with the smaller Manaha islands between them. Farther south is Goelettes. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

NASA image of Diego Garcia atoll (BIOT) in the Indian Ocean [ Image courtesy of NASA ]

Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at seven degrees, twenty six minutes south latitude (south of the equator). It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude. The atoll is approximately 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 km) east of the African coast and 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km) south of the southern tip of India (Figure 2.3). Diego Garcia lies at the southernmost tip of a long chain of coral reefs, atolls, and islands comprising the Laccadives, Maldives, and the Chagos Archipelago, in which Diego Garcia is geographically situated. Local time is GMT + 6 hours year-round (no daylight time change). (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)