Phoenix Islands

The Phoenix Islands, known locally as Rawaki, are a central Pacific archipelago of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs belonging to the Republic of Kiribati, lying east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. The eight main islands, Kanton, Enderbury, Rawaki, Manra, Birnie, McKean, Nikumaroro and Orona, together with the Winslow and Carondelet reefs, cover a combined land area of only about 28 to 32 square kilometers. Almost the entire group is uninhabited; Kanton is the sole settlement, with around 20 residents, mostly descendants of Gilbertese settlers, even though the islands sit in the Polynesian region of Oceania. Since 2008 the surrounding waters have formed the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, sheltering roughly 120 coral species and more than 500 fish species.