The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands, is a chain of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands, that stretches for 2,350 km in a northwest-southeast direction, making it one of the longest island chains of the world. Eight of the islands form part of Kiribati, while the remaining three are United States territories grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
Those that are part of Kiribati are in the world's farthest forward time zone, UTC+14:00. The time of day is the same as in Hawaiʻi, but the date is one day ahead. The time is 26 hours ahead of some other islands in Oceania like Baker Island which uses UTC−12:00.
The United States previously claimed all the Line Islands under the Guano Islands Act. This claim was relinquished under the Treaty of Tarawa, which recognised Kiribati's sovereignty over the majority of the chain.
The group is geographically divided into three subgroups; The Northern, Central, and Southern Line Islands. The Central Line Islands are sometimes grouped with the Southern Line Islands. The table below lists the islands from North to South.
| Atoll/Island/Reef | Island Area km² |
Lagoon km² |
Population | Coordinates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northern Line Islands (Fanning's Group) |
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| Kingman Reef | 0.01 | 60 | 0 | 6°24′N 162°24′W / 6.4°N 162.4°W / 6.4; -162.4 (Kingman Reef) | U.S. unincorporated territory |
| Palmyra Atoll | 3.9 | 8 | 4 | 5°52′N 162°6′W / 5.867°N 162.1°W / 5.867; -162.1 (Palmyra Atoll) | U.S. incorporated territory |
| Teraina (Washington Island) | 9.55 | 2* | 1,155 | 4°43′N 160°24′W / 4.717°N 160.4°W / 4.717; -160.4 (Teraina) | part of Kiribati |
| Tabuaeran (Fanning Island) | 33.73 | 110 | 2,539 | 3°52′N 159°22′W / 3.867°N 159.367°W / 3.867; -159.367 (Tabuaeran) | part of Kiribati |
| Kiritimati (Christmas Island) | 388.39 | 217.61 | 5,115 | 1°53′N 157°24′W / 1.883°N 157.4°W / 1.883; -157.4 (Kiritimati) | part of Kiribati |
|
Central Line Islands |
|||||
| Jarvis Island | 5 | - | 0 | 0°22′S 160°03′W / 0.367°S 160.05°W / -0.367; -160.05 (Jarvis Island) | U.S. unincorporated territory |
| Malden Island | 39.3 | 13* | 0 | 4°01′S 154°59′W / 4.017°S 154.983°W / -4.017; -154.983 (Malden Island) | part of Kiribati |
| Filippo Reef | - | 1.5 | 0 | 5°30′S 151°50′W / 5.5°S 151.833°W / -5.5; -151.833 (Filippo Reef) | outside EEZ (existence uncertain) |
| Starbuck Island | 16.2 | 4* | 0 | 5°37′S 155°56′W / 5.617°S 155.933°W / -5.617; -155.933 (Starbuck Island) | part of Kiribati |
|
Southern Line Islands |
|||||
| Caroline Island | 3.76 | 6.3 | 0 | 9°57′S 150°13′W / 9.95°S 150.217°W / -9.95; -150.217 (Caroline Island) | part of Kiribati |
| Vostok Island | 0.24 | - | 0 | 10°06′S 152°25′W / 10.1°S 152.417°W / -10.1; -152.417 (Vostok Island) | part of Kiribati |
| Flint Island | 3.2 | 0.01* | 0 | 11°26′S 151°48′W / 11.433°S 151.8°W / -11.433; -151.8 (Flint Island) | part of Kiribati |
| Line Islands | 503.28 | 422.42 | 8,813 | ||
* The lagoon areas marked with an asterisk are contained within the island areas of the previous column because they are, unlike in the case of a typical atoll, inland waters completely sealed off from the sea.
Kiritimati is the largest atoll in the world in terms of land area. The islands were annexed by Britain in 1888 with a view to laying the Pacific cable, with Tabuaeran (then Fanning Island) as a relay station. The cable was laid and was operational between 1902 and 1963 except for a short period in 1914.
Copra and "Petfish" are the main export products (with seaweed).
Famous quotes containing the words line and/or islands:
“I had lived over twenty years without the legal right to be alone one hour M to have the exclusive use of one foot of space M to receive an unopened letter, or to preserve a line of manuscript “from sharp and sly inspection.””
—Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815–1884)
“we are so many
and many within themselves
travel to far islands but no one
asks for their story....”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)