Oroluk Atoll is an atoll

Atoll

An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...

 belonging to Pohnpei State in the Micronesia

Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...

.

Description

Oroluk Atoll stretches from the northwest to the southeast with a length of about 32 km (20 mi) and an average width of 20 km (12 mi). The lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

's surface is roughly 420 km² (162 sq mi).

The more than 25 sandy islets and banks, predominantly on the eastern rim of the atoll, have been washed away by cyclone

Cyclone

In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...

s through the years. Only one island remains, Oroluk Island

Oroluk Island

Oroluk Island is one of the islets of Oroluk Atoll, part of the State of Pohnpei .Oroluk is currently uninhabited and is 0.13 km² in size. It was formerly inhabited. The main industry was agriculture and fishing....

 in the very northwest corner of the atoll. Oroluk Atoll is believed to have been first discovered and named by navigators from Namoluk Island in the Mortlock Islands

Mortlock Islands

The name Mortlock Islands can refer to:*Satawan , at in the Caroline Islands, Federated States of Micronesia*Takuu, a Polynesian outlier atoll at , northeast of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea...

.

The inhabitants of Oroluk are only between eight and ten in number. They come mainly from Sector 4 of the Kapinga Village in Kolonia

Kolonia

Kolonia is a coastal town and the capital of Pohnpei State in the Federated States of Micronesia . It was also the former FSM capital before being replaced by Palikir in 1989, located nearby to the southwest in the municipality of Sokehs.-Description:...

, Pohnpei, and tend to the plantations of bananas and taro. A supply ship generally calls into the lagoon once every 6 weeks. The island can be contacted by SSB on the frequency 7876.5 daily at 0600Z for a period of 15 minutes

Municipality

Oroluk

Oroluk

Oroluk is one of the administrative divisions of Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia.-Description:Oroluk municipality includes Oroluk Atoll and Minto Reef....

 municipality, which includes Oroluk Atoll and Minto Reef

Minto Reef

Minto Reef is a largely submerged atoll belonging to Pohnpei State in Micronesia.-Description:Minto Reef encloses a lagoon of about 25 to 30 km² in area. There are several boat passages into the lagoon on the southern side. It is at the same time the westernmost and northernmost feature of...

 is one of the twelve municipalties of Pohnpei State.

External links

• http://www.stub.bildarchiv-dkg.uni-frankfurt.de/Bildprojekt/Lexikon/php/suche_db.php?suchname=Oroluk-LaguneHeinrich Schnee, Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon
  Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon
  "Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon" is the German title for the "Encyclopedia of German colonies" which was published in 1920. The text had been finished by 1914 before World War I but was not printed due to the war...
  
  . Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1920, Band II, S. 684]
• Havarie der Norna (1861)