Maloelap Atoll

Maloelap Atoll
NASA picture of Maloelap Atoll
Maloelap Atoll is located in Marshall Islands
Maloelap Atoll
Maloelap Atoll
Geography
LocationNorth Pacific
Coordinates08°45′00″N 171°04′00″E / 8.75000°N 171.06667°E / 8.75000; 171.06667
ArchipelagoRatak
Total islands71
Area9.8 km2 (3.8 sq mi)
Highest elevation3 m (10 ft)
Administration
Demographics
Population395 (2021)
Ethnic groupsMarshallese

The Maloelap Atoll (Marshallese: M̧aļoeļap, [mˠɑlˠɔːɛlˠɑpʲ][1]) (also spelled Maleolap) is a coral atoll of 71 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is only 9.8 square kilometers (3.8 sq mi), but that encloses a lagoon of 972 square kilometers (375 sq mi). It is located 18 kilometers (11 mi) north of the atoll of Aur. The population of the atoll was 395 at the 2021 census.[2]

The largest of the islands that make up the atoll are Taroa (the administrative center of the atoll), in the northeast, and Kaben in the northwest. Only three of the other islands in the atoll are inhabited: Airuk, Wolot and Jang. The island is served by Air Marshall Islands via Maloelap Airport.

  1. ^ Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index
  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.