Orona is an atoll in the Phoenix archipelago located 96 km from Manra Island (or Sidney ), 233 km from Nikumaroro Island (or Gardner ) and 917 km from Apia , the capital of Samoa . The former name of the island is Hull .
| Orona (Hull) | |
|---|---|
| English Orona | |
 | |
| Characteristics | |
| total area | 3.9 km² |
| Population | 0 pax (2010) |
| Location | |
| Water area | Pacific Ocean |
| A country |
|
| Region | Phoenix Islands |
Geography
Orona is a low-lying atoll consisting of several islets surrounded by reefs . In the center of the island is a shallow lagoon . The atoll has the shape of a parallelogram with sides of 7 and 3.5 km, only the eastern side is strongly convex.
The reef in the north and south of the island is cut through by narrow straits : a total of 20 canals , two of which can be sailed by boat to the lagoon.
Coconut palms grow in the western part of Orona, most of which were planted back in the 1880s . The rest is covered with thickets. The most common plant is sesuvium . The eastern part of the island is bald: here is an ancient Polynesian tomb, indicating that in the past the island was inhabited by Polynesians .
About 17 species of birds , turtles , small rat , lizards and hermit crabs , about 50 species of insects live on the island.
History
The island was named captain of the ship "Vincent" Charles Wilkes in honor of Commander Isaac Hull on August 26, 1840 . The crew of this ship was very surprised when they discovered on the atoll a sick Frenchman and 11 Tahitians who had landed on Oron five months before. The island was also frequently visited by whalers , confusing it with Manra Island (Sydney). On Oron, no guano was mined, as on the neighboring islands of Sidney and Gardner. In 1887, a camp was set up on the island and 20,000 coconut palms were planted.
On July 11, 1887, a protectorate of the British Empire was established over Orona. From then until 1916 the island was leased to companies producing copra .
Currently, Orona is part of the Republic of Kiribati .