Kiritimati

Kiritimati or Christmas Island is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands and part of the Republic of Kiribati. The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the world: about 322 square kilometres (124 sq mi); its lagoon is about the same size. The atoll is about 150 km (93 mi) in perimeter, while the lagoon shoreline extends for over 48 km (30 mi). Kiritimati comprises over 70% of the total land area of Kiribati, a natio... more

Kiritimati or Christmas Island is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands and part of the Republic of Kiribati. The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the world: about 322 square kilometres (124 sq mi); its lagoon is about the same size. The atoll is about 150 km (93 mi) in perimeter, while the lagoon shoreline extends for over 48 km (30 mi). Kiritimati comprises over 70% of the total land area of Kiribati, a nation encompassing 33 Pacific atolls and islands. It lies 232 km (144 mi) north of the Equator, 6,700 km (4,200 mi) from Sydney, and 5,360 km (3,330 mi) from San Francisco. Kiritimati is the first inhabited place on Earth to experience the New Year each year (see also Caroline Atoll, Kiribati). Despite being 1,530 miles (2,460 km) east of the 180 meridian, a 1995 realignment of the International Dateline by the Republic of Kiribati "moved" Kiritimati to west of the dateline. Nuclear tests were conducted in the region around Kiritimati by the... less