Jabat Island (or Jabot Island or Jabwot Island; Marshallese: Jebat, [tʲɛbˠɑtˠ][1]) is an island in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only 0.6 square kilometers (0.23 sq mi), and has a length of 1.2 kilometers (0.75 mi). It is located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from Ailinglapalap Atoll. Unlike most of the other islands in the Marshall Islands, Jabat Island is a rocky island rather than a coral atoll, although it surrounded by fringing shallow water coral reefs that extend for several kilometres beyond the outer reef to the north and south. The population of Jabat Island was 75 in 2021.[2]

Jabat Island
NASA picture of Jabat Atoll
Map of the island in the Marshall islands
Jabat Island is located in Marshall Islands
Jabat Island
Jabat Island
Geography
LocationNorth Pacific
Coordinates7°45′06″N 168°58′36″E / 7.7517°N 168.9767°E / 7.7517; 168.9767
ArchipelagoRalik
Total islands1
Area0.6 km2 (0.23 sq mi)
Highest elevation3 m (10 ft)
Administration
Demographics
Population75 (2021)
Ethnic groupsMarshallese
Map of the island

History

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First recorded sighting of Jabat Island was by the Spanish navigator Alonso de Arellano on 8 January 1565 on board of the patache San Lucas.[3]

Jabat Island was claimed by the German Empire along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1885.[4] Along with other German possessions in the Pacific, it was taken by the Empire of Japan during World War I and remained under Japanese rule during the interwar South Seas Mandate. Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986.

Education

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Marshall Islands Public School System operates Jabat Elementary School.[5] Students are zoned to Jaluit High School in Jaluit Atoll.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index
  2. ^ "Republic of the Marshall Islands 2021 Census Report, Volume 1: Basic Tables and Administrative Report" (PDF). Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division. Pacific Community. May 30, 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-09-27. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  3. ^ Coello, Francisco "Conflicto hispano-alemán" Boletín de Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid, t.XIX. 2º semestre 1885, Madrid, p.288
  4. ^ Churchill, William (1920). "Germany's Lost Pacific Empire". Geographical Review. 10 (2): 84. JSTOR 207706.
  5. ^ "Public Schools Archived 2018-02-21 at the Wayback Machine." Marshall Islands Public School System. Retrieved on February 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Annual Report 2011-2012 Archived 2018-02-22 at the Wayback Machine." Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands). Retrieved on February 22, 2018. p. 54 (PDF p. 55/118). "As such, Jaluit High School enroll students from the Ralik and Iolab school zones including schools from Ebon, Namdrik, Kili, Jaluit, Ailinglaplap, Jabat, and Namu."
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