Majuro

Majuro

Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	7°4′N 171°16′E
Archipelago	Marshall Islands
Administration
Marshall Islands
Demographics
Population	25,400

Majuro (Template:PronEng), population 25,400 people (as of 2004), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Built on an atoll of 64 islands, the Majuro Atoll, Majuro has a port, shopping district, hotels, and an international airport. The major population centers are the D–U–D communities: the islands of Delap–Uliga–Djarrit (listed from south to north, on the eastern edge of the atoll). Uliga is the main business district, and banking and tourism are increasingly important. Uliga is home to the College of the Marshall Islands, Assumption High School, and Uliga Elementary School where English is taught to all students. The government offices are located in Delap; and located at the eastern point of Majuro Atoll is the capitol building for the Marshall Islands. Delap also has several large stores. Djarrit is mostly residential and has the largest public primary and a secondary schools in the country. At the western end of the atoll, about 30 miles from D–U–D by road, is the island community of Laura, a growing residential area with a popular beach. Laura has the highest elevation point on the atoll, estimated at less than 10 feet above sea level. Laura has the best soil for planting and is the home of several farms. Marshall Islands High School is near the north end of Majuro, in Djarrit.

The atoll itself has a land area of only 3.75 sq mi (9.7 km²), but encloses a lagoon of 113.92 sq mi (295 km²). Copra (coconut oil) is one of the main exports in the Marshall Islands, and receives copra shipments from most of the smaller populated atolls surrounding the area. Sport fishing is popular, and underwater divers are attracted to the area. Majuro and Kwajalein serve as the transportation hubs for the Marshall Islands, both for air service and shipping, though Majuro is more used because of Kwajalein's restricted military status.

Majuro, like many atolls, consists of extremely narrow land masses which allow a person to walk from the lagoon side to the ocean side within minutes. At some points, the island is narrow enough to throw a rock from one side to the other. Most of the roadway from Delap to Laura is a single two-lane paved road with houses on either side.

During World War II, on January 30, 1944, United States troops invaded Japanese-held Majuro and occupied the island.

Coconut oil

Lagoon side with native dwellings

On September 15, 2007, Witon Barry, of the Tobolar Copra processing plant in the Marshall Islands' capital of Majuro, said power authorities, private companies and entrepreneurs had been experimenting with coconut oil as an alternative to diesel fuel for vehicles, power generators and ships. Coconut trees abound in the Pacific's tropical islands. Copra, from 6 to 10 coconuts makes 1 litre oil.

Transportation

Air

Marshall Islands International Airport, offering domestic and international service, is located on the Majuro Atoll. It is serviced by two passenger airlines: Continental Micronesia and Air Marshall Islands.

Boat

Majuro Lagoon is an active port that is visited by ships and boats used for various activities. The Marshall Islands Shipping Corporation operates three ships (Aeaman, Langdrik, Ribuukae) and a landing craft (Jelejeletae). These boats are the main link for transporting people and supplies to and from the outer islands.

Additionally, the lagoon acts as a harbor for commercial fishing vessels, cruisers, sport fishing boats, outrigger sailing canoes and the occasional luxury yacht.

Sport

Majuro was initially scheduled to host the seventh edition of the Micronesian Games, in 2010. It subsequently renounced its hosting rights, citing a lack of adequate infrastructure.

Sister cities

• Guam, United States (1973)
• Kawai, Nara, Japan
• Taipei, Taiwan (1999)

External links

• Recent photos of the rural portions of Majuro
• World War II photos of Majuro