- Sapwuahfik
-
Sapwuahfik, formerly Ngatik, is an atoll that belongs to the State of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Contents
History
For Europeans, the atoll was discovered in 1773 by Felipe Tompson.
The atoll is notable for the Ngatik massacre of 1837.
Geography
It is located 150 km southwest of the main island of Pohnpei i the Eastern Caroline Islands and consists of 10 individual islands on the reef. The largest and only inhabited island is Ngatik, at the western end.
The atoll is 22.5 km long and up to 9.6 km wide. The lagoon measures 78.56 km² in area, and the total area is 114 km². The aggregate land area of the 10 islands is 1.75 km², of which the main island Ngatik is 0.91 km², or more than half. While Ngatik is the only inhabited island, the six larger of the remaining islands are used by the population for harvesting coconuts and growing taro, and animal husbandry (pigs and chicken). There is a total of 12 buildings for temporary shelter on those islands.[1]
The islands clockwise, starting at Ngatik in the west:
Island Area
km²[1]Location Ngatik 0.906 western end Peina 0.206 north Bigen Karakar 0.025 northeast Jirup 0.023 east Bigen Kelang 0.047 east Pikepe (Piken Mategan) 0.009 east Dekehnman 0.009 eastern end Wat 0,281 eastern end Pikenmetkow 0.006 southeast Uataluk (Wateiluk) 0.039 south Sapwuahfik (Atoll) 1.551 fringing reef External links
References
Coordinates: 5°48′47″N 157°16′36″E / 5.813056°N 157.276667°E
Categories:- Atolls of the Federated States of Micronesia
- Municipalities of Pohnpei
- Islands of Pohnpei
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.