Faichuk (also Faichuuk, Tol, or the Western Islands) is a group of four islands separated from one another by narrow canals in the western part of Truk Lagoon, Chuuk, Micronesia. The tightly knit islands are considered as one for statistical and administrative purposes.
The islands are Paata (Pata), Polle, Wonei (Onei), and Tol (these four, because of their proximity, are sometimes collectively subsumed under the island name Tol), Eot, Fanapanges, Romanum and Udot. Their aggregate area is 41.90 or 49.63 km2, according to different sources. The population is 16,000. The islands are mostly hilly and peak at 443 meters above sea level (Mount Winipot on Tol Island). Mount Winipot is also the highest point of the Chuuk State. This group of islands claims again (2002) the status of a federated state after a first attempt refused by the Micronesian president around 1985.
| Island | Area (km2)[1] |
Population 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| Faichuk Group | ||
| Paata | 4.41 | 2103 |
| Polle | 9.38 | 2662 |
| Tol | 10.32 | 5495 |
| Wonei | 10.05 | 1073 |
| Nomiwisofo Group | ||
| Eot | 0.49 | 407 |
| Fanapanges | 1.57 | 784 |
| Romanum | 0.75 | 1491 |
| Udot | 4.93 | 2008 |
| Faichuk Islands | 41.90 | 16023 |
- ^ Areas of Tol, Wonei, Polle and Paata measured in comparison, other area figures from: Edwin Horace Bryan: Guide to place names in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands: (the Marshall, Caroline and Mariana Islands) (Paperback). Honolulu: Pacific Scientific Information Center, 1971 (acre figures converted to km²). Chuuk 1989 Census of Population and Housing Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (Seite 52) provides very different area figures (with an aggregate area of 49.86 km²), which suggest a different division line between Tol and Wonei.