Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll (/ˈbɪkɪˌniː/ or /bɪˈkiːni/; Marshallese: Pikinni, [pʲiɡinnʲi], meaning "coconut place"), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a 229.4-square-mile (594.1 km2) central lagoon. The Atoll is at the northern end of the Ralik Chain, approximately 530 miles (850 km) northwest of the capital Majuro.
Bikini Atoll
Pikinni Atoll, Eschscholtz Atoll | |
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Bikini Atoll. Two craters from Operation Castle can be seen on the northwest cape of the atoll, adjacent to Namu island. The larger is from the 15 Mt Bravo shot, with the smaller 11 Mt Romeo crater adjoining it. | |
| Nickname: Kili | |
| Motto: Men otemjej rej ilo bein anij | |
| Anthem: Ij Jab Ber Emol | |
Map of the Marshall Islands showing Bikini Atoll | |
Map of Bikini Atoll | |
Bikini Atoll Location of Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll (Pacific Ocean) | |
| Coordinates: 11.6°N 165.4°E | |
| Country | Republic of the Marshall Islands |
| Area | |
| • Land | 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 5 caretakers |
| Population relocated in 1948 Resettled population evacuated in 1980 | |
| Official name | Bikini Atoll Nuclear Test Site |
| Criteria | Cultural: iv; vi |
| Reference | 1339 |
| Inscription | 2010 (34th Session) |
After the Second World War, the atoll was chosen by the United States as a nuclear weapon testing site. All 167 of the atoll's inhabitants were forcibly relocated in 1946 to Rongerik, a small island east of Bikini Atoll with inadequate resources to support the population. The islanders began experiencing starvation by early 1948, and they were moved again, this time to Kwajalein Atoll. The United States used the islands and lagoon as the site of 23 nuclear tests until 1958.
In 1970, about 200 residents were returned to their home island by the U.S. government. But scientists found dangerously high levels of strontium-90 in well water in May 1978 and the residents' bodies were carrying abnormally high concentrations of caesium-137. They were evacuated again in 1980. The atoll is occasionally visited today by divers and a few scientists, and is occupied by a handful of caretakers.