Arno Atoll

Arno Atoll
NASA picture of Arno Atoll
Map of Arno Atoll
Arno Atoll is located in Marshall Islands
Arno Atoll
Arno Atoll
Location in the Marshall Islands
Geography
LocationNorth Pacific
Coordinates7°05′N 171°42′E / 7.083°N 171.700°E / 7.083; 171.700
ArchipelagoRatak
Total islands133
Area13.0 km2 (5.0 sq mi)
Highest elevation3 m (10 ft)
Administration
Marshall Islands
Demographics
Population1,141 (2021)
Ethnic groupsMarshallese
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Arno Atoll (Marshallese: Arņo, [ɑnnˠɔ][1]) is a coral atoll of 133 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only 5 square miles (13 km2). Unlike most other atolls, Arno encloses three different lagoons, a large central one, and two smaller ones in the north and east. Its main lagoon encloses an area of 130.77 square miles (338.7 km2). At a distance of only 20 kilometers (12 mi), it is the closest atoll to the Marshall Islands capital, Majuro Atoll, and can be seen looking east from Majuro on a clear day at low tide. The population of Arno Atoll was 1,141 at the 2021 census.[2] The most populous islets are Ajeltokrok, Kobjeltak, Rearlaplap, Langor and Tutu. The largest village is Ine, Arno.

People of Arno are well known for their productivity in making copra (the dried out meat of coconuts, from which coconut oil is extracted). Arno women are renowned for their production of the Kili Bag, a popular handwoven handbag/purse, named after another island in the Marshall Islands (to which the people of Bikini were eventually relocated as a result of the US nuclear tests that were conducted on their home atoll). Arno supposedly had a traditional "love school".

  1. ^ Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Republic of the Marshall Islands 2021 Census Report, Volume 1: Basic Tables and Administrative Report" (PDF). Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division. Pacific Community. May 30, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.