View source for Chuuk Lagoon

{{Short description|Atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Chuuk Lagoon
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
| settlement_type    = Atoll
| image_skyline      = 
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = Flag of Chuuk.svg
| coordinates        = {{coord|07|24|54|N|151|44|06|E|type:waterbody_region:FM|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flagicon|Federated States of Micronesia}} [[Federated States of Micronesia]]
| subdivision_type1  = State
| subdivision_name1  = [[Chuuk State]]
| leader_title       = [[Governor of Chuuk|Governor]]
| leader_name        = [[Alexander R. Narruhn]] (since 2021)
| unit_pref          = Metric
| area_total_km2     = 93.07
| elevation_m        = 443
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 36158
| population_as_of   = 2010
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym = 
| population_note    = 
| seat_type          = Capital
| seat               = [[Weno]]
}}
[[File:Chuuk_Lagoon_Municipalities_map.jpg|thumb|Administrative subdivision of Chuuk Lagoon]]
[[File:Map Chuuk Islands1.png|thumb|Map of Chuuk Islands]]
[[File:Chuuk islands (satellite).JPG|thumb|Chuuk islands]]

'''Chuuk Lagoon''', previously '''Truk Atoll''', is an [[atoll]] in the central [[Pacific]]. It lies about {{convert|1,800|km|nmi|abbr=off}} northeast of [[New Guinea]] and is part of [[Chuuk State]] within the [[Federated States of Micronesia]] (FSM). A protective reef, {{convert|225|km|mi}} around, encloses a natural harbour {{convert|79|by(x)|50|km|nmi|abbr=on}}, with an area of {{convert|2,130|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref>1989 Census p. 1</ref> It has a land area of {{convert|93.07|km2|sqmi|2|abbr=off}}, with a population of 36,158 people<ref>2010 Census p ii</ref> and a maximal elevation of {{convert|443|m}}. [[Weno]] city on Weno (formerly Moen) Island functions as both the atoll's capital and the state capital, and is the largest city in the FSM with its 13,700 people.

Chuuk Lagoon was the [[Empire of Japan]]'s main naval base in the [[Pacific War|South Pacific theatre]] during [[World War II]]. It was the site of a major U.S. attack during [[Operation Hailstone]] in February 1944, and [[Operation Inmate]], a small assault conducted by British and Canadian forces during June&nbsp;1945.

==Name==
Chuuk means ''mountain'' in the [[Chuukese language]]. The lagoon was known mainly as '''Truk''' (a mispronunciation of '''Ruk'''), until 1990. Other names included ''Hogoleu'', ''Torres'', Ugulat, and ''Lugulus''. <ref>The British Museum (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x66728)</ref>
==Geography==
Chuuk Lagoon is part of the larger [[Caroline Islands]] group. The area consists of eleven major islands (corresponding to the eleven municipalities of Truk lagoon, which are [[Tol (island)|Tol]], [[Udot, Federated States of Micronesia|Udot]], Fala-Beguets, Romanum, and Eot of [[Faichuk]] group, and [[Weno]], [[Fefen]], [[Dublon]], [[Uman (Island)|Uman]], Param, and Tsis of [[Nomoneas]] group) and 46 smaller ones within the lagoon, plus 41 on the fringing coral reef, and is known today as the Chuuk islands, part of the [[Federated States of Micronesia]] in the Pacific Ocean.

=== Main islands ===
This is a list of islands, villages and population following the 2010 census:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="background: #CCC;" class="unsortable"|Island!!style="background: #CCC;" class="unsortable"| Capital !!style="background: #CCC;" class="unsortable"| Other Cities!!style="background: #CCC;"| Area&nbsp;(km<sup>2</sup>) !!style="background: #CCC;"| Population
|-style="background:#FFFFFF;"
|Chuuk Atoll || || ||align="right"|93.07||align="right"|36158
|-style="background:#F2E0CE;"
|[[Faichuk]] || || ||align="right"|41.8||align="right"|11305
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Fanapanges]] ||Nepitiw ||Peniamwan, Wichuk, Seisein, Sapotiw ||align="right"|1.62||align="right"|672
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Paata]] ||Sapaata ||Chukufefin, Nukaf, Epin, Pokochou, Etlemar, Onas Point ||align="right"|4.4||align="right"|1107
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Polle (island)|Polle]] ||Nepanonong ||Chukaram, Neton, Malaio, Unikappi, Sapou, Miari, Neirenom ||align="right"|9.3||align="right"|1496
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Ramanum (island)|Ramanum]] ||Winisi ||Chorong, Nepor Point ||align="right"|0.856||align="right"|865
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Tol (island)|Tol]] ||Foson ||Chukienu, Wichukuno, Wonip, Nechocho, Munien, Faro, Winifei, Foupo, Foup ||align="right"|10.3||align="right"|4579
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Udot (island)|Udot]] ||Fanomo ||Tunuk, Wonip, Ounechen, Monowe, Chukisenuk, Mwanitiw, Penia ||align="right"|4.5||align="right"|1680
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Onei]] ||[[Nambo, Micronesia|Nambo]] || Onnap, Fanato, Nepos, Peniata, Sapitiw, Anakun, Tolokas, Ras ||align="right"|10||align="right"|638
|-style="background:#F2E0CE;"
|[[Northern Namoneas]] ||[[Weno]] ||Neiwe, Mwan, Nepukos, Iras, Mechitiw, Tunuk, Peniesene, Penia, Wichap ||align="right"|20.76||align="right"|14620
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Fono (island)|Fono]] ||Fanip ||[[Mesor]] ||align="right"|0.342||align="right"|388
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Piis]] ||Nukan ||Sapatiw ||align="right"|0.32||align="right"|360
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Weno]] ||[[Weno]] ||Neiwe, Mwan, Nepukos, Iras, Mechitiw, Tunuk, Peniesene, Penia, Wichap ||align="right"|19.1||align="right"|13854
|-style="background:#F2E0CE;"
|[[Southern Namoneas]] || || ||align="right"|30.42||align="right"|10233
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Fefan]] ||Messa ||Sapota, Aun, Sapore, Upwein, Fason, Wininis, Pieis, Ununo, Fongen, Onongoch, Feini, Mwen, Saporanong, Manukun, Meseiku, Kukuwu, Sopuo ||align="right"|12.15||align="right"|3471
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Tonowas]] ||Nemuanon ||Pwene, Chun, Nechap, Tonof, Pata, wonpiepi, Meseran, Fankachau, Sapou, Roro, Penior, Nukanap, Penienuk, Saponong, Supun, Nukan ||align="right"|8.94||align="right"|3294
|-style="background:#AEE0F2;"
|[[Uman Island]] ||Nepononong ||Sapou, Nepon, Sapotiw, Sapota, Nesarau, Sanuk, Mochon, Nukan, Manukun ||align="right"|3.86||align="right"|2540
|}

=== Climate ===
<div style="width:75%">
{{Weather box
|location=Chuuk Islands
|single line=Yes
|metric first=Yes
|Jan high F=86
|Feb high F=86
|Mar high F=86
|Apr high F=87
|May high F=87
|Jun high F=87
|Jul high F=87
|Aug high F=87
|Sep high F=87
|Oct high F=87
|Nov high F=87
|Dec high F=86
|year high F=87
|Jan low F=77
|Feb low F=77
|Mar low F=77
|Apr low F=77
|May low F=77
|Jun low F=76
|Jul low F=76
|Aug low F=75
|Sep low F=76
|Oct low F=76
|Nov low F=76
|Dec low F=77
|year low F=76
|Jan precipitation inch=8.9
|Feb precipitation inch=6.7
|Mar precipitation inch=8.8
|Apr precipitation inch=12.3
|May precipitation inch=14.3
|Jun precipitation inch=12
|Jul precipitation inch=13.7
|Aug precipitation inch=13.9
|Sep precipitation inch=12.6
|Oct precipitation inch=13.6
|Nov precipitation inch=11.3
|Dec precipitation inch=12.1
|year precipitation inch=140.3
|source 1=Weatherbase <ref name=Weatherbase>{{cite web |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=43319&refer=wikipedia |title=Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Chuuk Islands, Federated States of Micronesia |publisher=Weatherbase |year=2011 |access-date=2012-06-09 |archive-date=2020-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027021626/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=43319&refer=wikipedia |url-status=live }}
Retrieved on November 24, 2011.</ref>
|date=November 2011
}}
</div>

==History==
[[File:Truk Islanders in full dress (circa 1930s).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Native Micronesian of Japanese Truk Island, circa 1930s.]]
[[File:Police officer at Chuuk, Micronesia in 1931.png|thumb|upright=0.7|Native [[Micronesia#Demographics|Micronesian]] teaching assistant (left) and constables (middle and right) of Japanese Truk Island, circa 1930. Truk became a possession of the Empire of Japan under a mandate from the League of Nations following Germany's defeat in World War I.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/(httpAssets)/3DA94AAFEB9E8E76C1256F340047BB52/$file/sdn_chronology.pdf |title=League of Nations chronology |website=United Nations |access-date=2020-05-26 |archive-date=2015-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404121418/http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/(httpAssets)/3DA94AAFEB9E8E76C1256F340047BB52/$file/sdn_chronology.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>
]]

===Prehistory===

It is not known when the islands of Chuuk were first settled, but archaeological evidence indicates that islands of Feefen and Wééné had human settlements in the first and second century BC. Later evidence indicates that widespread human settlements appeared in Chuuk during the 14th century AD.<ref name="Goodenough2002">{{cite book |last=Goodenough |first=Ward Hunt |title=Under Heaven's Brow: Pre-Christian Religious Tradition in Chuuk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iOktNiIoMHAC&pg=PA17 |date=1 January 2002 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=978-0-87169-246-7 |pages=17–18}}</ref>

===Colonialism===

The first recorded sighting by Europeans was made by Spanish navigator [[Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón|Álvaro de Saavedra]] on board the ship ''Florida'' during August or September 1528.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Coello |first=Francisco |title=Conflicto hispano-alemán |journal=Boletín de Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=khsbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA233 |volume=19 |date=1885 |location=Madrid |pages=234, 266 |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-date=2020-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819135043/https://books.google.com/books?id=khsbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA233 |url-status=live }}</ref> They were later visited by Spaniard [[Alonso de Arellano]] on 15 January 1565 on board of galleon patache ''San Lucas''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Coello |first=Francisco |title=Conflicto hispano-alemán |journal=Boletín de Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=khsbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA233 |volume=19 |date=1885 |location=Madrid |pages=241, 242, 289 |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-date=2020-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819135043/https://books.google.com/books?id=khsbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA233 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As part of the [[Caroline Islands]], Truk was claimed by the [[Spanish Empire]], which made an effort to control the islands in the late 19th century. Chuuk Lagoon was inhabited by several tribes that engaged in intermittent warfare, as well as a small population of foreign traders and missionaries. Spanish control over the islands was nominal. The Spaniards stopped to raise a flag over Chuuk in 1886 and returned in 1895 as part of an attempt to assert control and negotiate peace between warring Chuukese tribes. No permanent Spanish settlement was established, and tribal violence continued until the German colonial era.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hezel |first=Francis X. |date=1995 |title=Strangers in Their Own Land: A Century of Colonial Rule in the Caroline and Marshall Islands |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |page=70 |isbn=978-0-8248-2804-2}}</ref> The Caroline Islands were sold to the [[German Empire]] in 1899, after Spain withdrew from the Pacific in the aftermath of the [[Spanish–American War]].

During the [[World War I|First World War]], The [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Navy]] was tasked with pursuing and destroying the German [[East Asia Squadron]]<ref name="Bailey">{{cite book |title=WWII Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon |author=Dan E. Bailey |date=2001 |url=http://www.petemesley.com/lust4rust/wreck-trips/truk-lagoon/history/background.php |access-date=2020-05-26 |archive-date=2020-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401025033/http://www.petemesley.com/lust4rust/wreck-trips/truk-lagoon/history/background.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and protection of the shipping lanes for [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] commerce in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stephenson |first=Charles |title=The Siege of Tsingtau: The German-Japanese War 1914 |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-52670-295-1 |pages=67–68}}</ref> During the course of this operation, the Japanese Navy seized the German possessions in the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]], Carolines, [[Marshall Islands]] and [[Palau]] groups by October 1914.{{sfn|Ponsonby-Fane|1962|p=348}} Chuuk then became a possession of the [[Empire of Japan]] under the [[South Seas Mandate]] following [[Germany]]'s defeat.<ref name="Mizokami">{{cite news |last=Mizokami |first=Kyle |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/26/national/history/japans-baptism-of-fire/ |title=Japan's baptism of fire: World War I put country on a collision course with West |newspaper=The Japan Times |date=27 July 2014 |access-date=26 May 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731062152/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/26/national/history/japans-baptism-of-fire/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Ponsonby-Fane|1962|p=348}}{{sfn|Myers|Peattie|1984|p=200}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/(httpAssets)/3DA94AAFEB9E8E76C1256F340047BB52/$file/sdn_chronology.pdf |title=League of Nations chronology |website=United Nations |access-date=2020-05-26 |archive-date=2015-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404121418/http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/(httpAssets)/3DA94AAFEB9E8E76C1256F340047BB52/$file/sdn_chronology.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===World War II===
[[File:YamatoClassBattleships.jpg|thumb|right|Japanese battleships ''[[Japanese battleship Yamato|Yamato]]'' and ''[[Japanese battleship Musashi|Musashi]]'' in anchorage off Truk Islands in 1943]]
[[File:Japanese shipping under attack in Truk Lagoon during Operation Hailstone, 17 February 1944 (80-G-215151).jpg|thumb|Japanese shipping under attack in Truk Lagoon during [[Operation Hailstone]] on 17 February 1944]]
'''Naval Base Truk''' in the Truk Lagoon was the [[Empire of Japan]]'s main base in the [[Pacific War|South Pacific theatre]] of World War II. There was a myth that Truk was heavily fortified, and it was given nicknames like "the [[Gibraltar]] of the Pacific," or Japan's equivalent of the Americans' [[Pearl Harbor]].<ref>For examples of this myth, see {{cite book |last1=Costello |first1=John |title=The Pacific War, 1941–1945 |date=1982 |publisher=Quill |location=New York |isbn=978-0-688-01620-3}}; and {{cite web |url=http://www.live-adventurously.com/truk-lagoon-and-the-lost-japanese-ghost-fleet/ |title=Truk Lagoon and the Lost Japanese Ghost Fleet – The Adventure Couple |publisher=Live-adventurously.com |date=2012-03-08 |access-date=2013-11-21 |archive-date=2016-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809120227/http://www.live-adventurously.com/truk-lagoon-and-the-lost-japanese-ghost-fleet/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In fact:<ref>Lardas, Mark, and Adam Tooby, ''Truk 1944-45: The Destruction of Japan's Central Pacific Bastion'', pg. 5 (Osprey, 2021)</ref><blockquote>[T]he reality was somewhat different. (...)

The lack of fortifications was less due to Japan's regard for international law than to Japan's economic limitations. It could not afford both a large navy and extensive naval fortifications. It opted to build up its naval forces, neglecting fixed defenses.</blockquote>

Nevertheless, Truk was the main base for Japanese operations against [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces in [[New Guinea campaign|New Guinea]] and the [[Solomon Islands campaign|Solomon Islands]], serving as the forward [[anchorage (maritime)|anchorage]] for the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] (IJN), and Truk Lagoon was considered the most formidable of all Japanese strongholds in the Pacific. On the various islands, the Japanese Civil Engineering Department and Naval Construction Department had built roads, trenches, bunkers and caves. Five airstrips, seaplane bases, a torpedo boat station, submarine repair shops, a communications center and a [[radar]] station were constructed during the war. Protecting these various facilities were coastal defense guns and mortar emplacements.

A significant portion of the Japanese fleet was based at Truk, with its administrative center on Tonoas (south of Weno). At anchor in the lagoon were [[battleship]]s, [[aircraft carrier]]s, [[cruiser]]s, [[destroyer]]s, [[tanker (ship)|tankers]], [[cargo ship]]s, [[tugboat]]s, [[gunboat]]s, [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]], [[landing craft]], and [[submarine]]s. In particular, ''[[Japanese battleship Yamato|Yamato]]'' and ''[[Japanese battleship Musashi|Musashi]]'' were stationed at Truk for months around 1943, unable to participate in battle. The Japanese [[garrison]] consisted of 27,856 IJN men, under the command of [[Vice Admiral]] Masami Kobayashi, then [[Chūichi Hara|Vice Admiral Chuichi Hara]], and 16,737 [[Imperial Japanese Army]] men, under the command of Major General Kanenobu Ishuin.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Takizawa |first1=Akira |last2=Alsleben |first2=Allan |date=1999–2000 |title=Japanese garrisons on the by-passed Pacific Islands 1944–1945 |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/japan_garrison.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106231303/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/japan_garrison.html |archive-date=2016-01-06 |work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942}}</ref>

At one point, dropping a nuclear weapon on Truk was discussed by the United States government.<ref>[[James D. Hornfischer|Hornfischer, James]] (2022), ''Who Can Hold the Sea: The U.S. Navy in the Cold War, 1945-1960,'' pg. 22. "In 1944, planners at the Manhattan Engineer District at [[Project Y|Los Alamos]] had discussed testing the new weapon against Truk..."</ref>

In 1944, Truk's capacity as a [[naval base]] was destroyed through naval air attack in [[Operation Hailstone]]. Forewarned by intelligence a week before the US raid, the Japanese had withdrawn their larger warships (heavy cruisers and aircraft carriers) to [[Palau]]. Once the American forces [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign|captured the Marshall Islands]], they used them as a base from which to launch an early morning attack on 17 February 1944 against Truk Lagoon. Operation Hailstone lasted for three days, as American carrier-based planes sank 12 smaller Japanese [[warship]]s (light cruisers, destroyers, and auxiliaries) and 32 merchant ships, while destroying 275 aircraft, mainly on the ground. The consequences of the attack made "Truk lagoon the biggest graveyard of ships in the world".<ref>{{cite video |year=1944 |title=Video: Castle Films Yanks Smash Truk (1944) |url=https://archive.org/details/1945-03-01_Santo_Tomas_Prisoners_Liberated |publisher=[[Castle Films]] |access-date=February 21, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Trumbull |first=Robert |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10813FC3F5F117B93C2AA178FD85F468785F9&scp=1&sq=The%20'Graveyard'%20Lure%20of%20Truk%20Lagoon&st=cse |title=The 'Graveyard' Lure of Truk Lagoon |newspaper=New York Times |date=April 30, 1972 |access-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217093357/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/30/archives/the-graveyard-lure-of-truk-lagoon.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The attacks for the most part ended Truk as a major threat to Allied operations in the central Pacific. The Japanese garrison on [[Eniwetok]] was denied any realistic hope of reinforcement and support during the invasion that began on 18 February, greatly assisting U.S. forces in their conquest of that island. Truk was isolated by Allied forces, as they continued their advance towards Japan by invading other Pacific islands, such as [[Battle of Guam (1944)|Guam]], [[Battle of Saipan|Saipan]], [[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign|Palau]], and [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]]. Truk was attacked again from 12 to 16 June 1945 by part of the [[British Pacific Fleet]] during [[Operation Inmate]]. Cut off, the Japanese forces on Truk and other central Pacific islands ran low on food and faced starvation before [[Surrender of Japan|Japan surrendered]] in August 1945.<ref>Stewart, 1986</ref>

==Economy and infrastructure==
[[File:ChuukAirport.jpg|left|thumb|[[Chuuk International Airport]]]]
Most of the roads and transportation systems are poor or in disrepair; an extensive infrastructural redevelopment plan began, consisting of a five-phase project to completely reconstruct the existing sewer, water and storm drainage systems as well as pour concrete roadways in the majority of the villages of Weno.

[[Chuuk International Airport]] ([[IATA airport code]] TKK) is on the administrative island of Moen. It is served by [[United Airlines]].

The government operates a radio station. Interisland communication is often accomplished using [[citizens' band radio]]. Telephone services are limited on Chuuk, though a cellular network is established within some islands of the lagoon and in the near future on the outer islands.  High speed Internet access via ADSL has been made available on a monthly subscription basis on the Island of Weno from May 2010.

Tourism, especially [[scuba diving]] among the many wrecks of Truk Lagoon, is the island's main industry. [[Copra]] (dried [[coconut]] meat) is the only [[cash crop]], and output is relatively insignificant. Most of the inhabitants of outlying islands engage in [[Subsistence economy|subsistence activity]] only.

===Recreational diving===
[[File:Weno island, Chuuk (1).jpg|thumb|A view of Moen]]
[[File:Truk Lagoon.png|thumb|220px|Chuuk Atoll]]

In 1969, William A. Brown and French oceanographer [[Jacques Cousteau]] and his team explored Truk Lagoon. Following Cousteau's 1971 television documentary about the lagoon and its ghostly remains, the atoll became a scuba diving lure, drawing [[wreck diving]] enthusiasts from around the world to see its numerous, virtually intact sunken ships. The shipwrecks and remains are sometimes referred to as the "Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon". Scattered mainly around the [[Dublon]] (Tonowas), [[Eten Island|Eten]], [[Fefan]] and [[Uman (Island)|Uman]] islands within the Truk group, several shipwrecks lie in crystal clear waters less than {{convert|15|m|ft|-1|spell=in}} below the surface. In waters devoid of normal ocean currents, divers can easily swim across decks littered with gas masks and [[depth charge]]s, and below decks can be found evidence of human remains. In the massive ships' holds are the remnants of fighter aircraft, tanks, bulldozers, railroad cars, motorcycles, torpedoes, mines, bombs, boxes of munitions, radios, plus thousands of other weapons, spare parts, and other artifacts. Of special interest is the wreck of the submarine ''[[Japanese submarine I-169|I-169 Shinohara]]'' which was lost when diving to avoid the bombing. The submarine had participated in the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in December 1941.

The coral encrusted wrecks attract a diverse array of marine life, including manta rays, turtles, sharks and corals. In 2007, 266 species of reef fish were recorded by an [[Earthwatch Institute|Earthwatch]] team, and in 2006 the rare coral ''[[Acropora pichoni]]'' was identified.<ref>[http://newswise.com/articles/view/543858/ Scientists Find Oil Leak Threatening Chuuk Lagoon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612224521/https://www.newswise.com/articles/view/543858/|date=2019-06-12}} Newswise, Retrieved on August 28, 2008.</ref>

On 12 April 2011, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation program [[Foreign Correspondent (TV series)|''Foreign Correspondent'']] screened a report on Chuuk Lagoon likening the effect of the impending massive release of tens of thousands of tonnes of oil from the rusting Japanese warships into the coral reef to that of the [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|Exxon Valdez spill]] in Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |date=2011-05-20 |title=Chuuk Islands – The Blue and the Black – Foreign Correspondent |url=http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2011/s3189254.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311064745/http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2011/s3189254.htm |archive-date=2016-03-11 |access-date=2013-11-21 |publisher=ABC}}</ref> However, given the poor state of the Japanese war effort in 1944, many of the ships may have had relatively small amounts of fuel in their bunkers. Environmental protection organizations are surveying the wrecks while also consulting with Japanese researchers to try to determine how much oil is likely to be in the hulls, particularly in three sunken oil tankers.<ref>{{cite web |date=2008-09-02 |title=Paradise island threatened by wrecked WWII oil tanker – environment – 02 September 2008 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14645-paradise-island-threatened-by-wrecked-wwii-oil-tanker |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813082950/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14645-paradise-island-threatened-by-wrecked-wwii-oil-tanker |archive-date=2014-08-13 |access-date=2013-11-21 |publisher=New Scientist}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rainforest Conservation &#124; Volunteer For Animals &#124; Earthwatch News |url=http://www.earthwatch.org/europe/newsroom/science/news-3-truk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018153501/https://earthwatch.org/news-media |archive-date=2019-10-18 |access-date=2013-11-21 |publisher=Earthwatch.org}}</ref> The ships are classified as a Japanese [[war grave]], requiring Japanese government involvement in the eventual clean-up.

== Shipwreck gallery ==
<gallery>
File:1849 aquaimages.jpg|[[Mitsubishi G4M]] "Betty" bomber
File:Bow gun of the Fujikawa Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg|Bow gun of the ''Fujikawa Maru''
File:Toyota KB Sunken in Micronesia - 1856 aquaimages.jpg|1940's truck in the hold of the ''Hoki Maru''
File:Japanese 2-man tankette on the deck of the Nippo Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg|2-man tank on the deck of the ''Nippo Maru''
File:Light artillery piece on the deck of the Nippo Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg|Light artillery piece on the deck of the ''Nippo Maru''
File:Divers next to the mast of the Unkai Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg|Divers next to the mast of the ''Unkai Maru''
File:Diver photographing artillery shells in hold of the Yamagiri Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg|Diver photographing 14-inch artillery shells in the ''Yamagiri Maru''
File:Diver and soft corals next to the mast of the Hoki Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg|Diver and soft corals next to the mast of the ''Hoki Maru''
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of United States National Historic Landmarks in United States commonwealths and territories, associated states, and foreign states]]
*[[US Naval Base Carolines]]
*[[List of shipwrecks of Oceania#Chuuk|List of wrecks in the lagoon]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite web |first=Klemen |last=L |date=2000 |title=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/index.html}}
* {{cite book |last1=Myers |first2=Mark R. |last2=Peattie |first1=Ramon Hawley |author-link2=Mark Peattie |title=The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqNiaX7b4bgC |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1984 |isbn=9780691102221}}
* {{cite book |last=Ponsonby-Fane |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Ponsonby-Fane |year=1962 |title=Sovereign and Subject |publisher=Ponsonby Memorial Society |pages=346–353}}

==External links==
*[http://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/viewpage.php?page_id=10#chuuk ''Shipwrecks of Chuuk Lagoon'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061231104826/http://www.seawolfproductions.com/Shipwreck%20Museum/Truk%20Lagoon/I-169/I169web.htm Submarine ''I-169'']
*[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/aviation/ Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary]
*[http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2011/s3161428.htm ''Chuuk Islands – The Blue and the Black''] [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] [[Foreign Correspondent (TV series)|Foreign Correspondent]]

{{Recreational dive sites|wrereg}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in the Federated States of Micronesia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chuuk State]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of the Federated States of Micronesia]]
[[Category:World War II sites in the Federated States of Micronesia]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites]]
[[Category:Underwater diving sites in Micronesia]]
[[Category:Lagoons of Oceania]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in the Federated States of Micronesia]]
[[Category:World War II on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in the Federated States of Micronesia]]