| Kiritimati or Christmas
Island, atoll, part of the republic of Kiribati, in the central Pacific
Ocean. One of the Line Islands, Kiritimati is the largest atoll in the Pacific.
The chief economic activity is the raising of coconuts. Explored in 1777
by Captain James Cook, it was annexed by Great Britain in 1888 and after
1919 was included in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands dependency. The atoll
was an air base of the United States during World War II (1939-1945) and
served as a base for British nuclear tests in 1957 and 1958 and for U.S.
nuclear tests in 1962. It was included in the Gilbert Islands dependency
from 1976 to 1979, when the dependency became independent, as Kiribati.
Area, about 388 sq km (about 150 sq mi); population (1990) 2537. |