Christmas island (Kiribati)

There exists a homonymous island in the Indian Ocean pertaining to the Australia: the Christmas island. ---- The Christmas island (or Kiritimati , alternative C-W communication) is a Atoll of the Pacific Ocean pertaining to the Republic of the Kiribati. It is the largest atoll in the world for its terrestrial surface, that is to say 642 km ² (sometimes 388,39 km ² according to other sources, according to the methods of calculating and of the more or less drained lagoons), which only represents nearly 70% of the total surface area of the Kiribati to him.

Kiritimati is the name written in Gilbertin (vernacular) of Christmas island. It is about simple the Translittération of the English Christmas (Christmas), pronounced, but this name appears in the constitution of the July 12th 1979 like a graphic alternative to the English name. The widespread local use is to write it and to pronounce it… as in English, Christmas Island .

The atoll counts 5.115 inhabitants in 2005, including 4.864 I-Kiribati (Gilbertins), 170 mongrel and 81 foreigners, divided into 775 hearths (intermediate size of the families: 6,6).

4 villages concentrate the population of the island: Ronton or London (nearly 2.000 h.), Tabwakea (or Tabakea) (1 300 h.), Banana (720 h.) and Poland (550 h.).

The Toponymie of the island is due essentially to the father Emmanuel Rougier - who rented the Atoll with the the United Kingdom between the two wars and there planted nearly 800.000 Cocotier S before dying in Tahiti. The village, from now on given up, where it resided is always called Paris and beyond the Manche ( Burgle Chanel ), is still London - initially London - (the chief town). The director of the plantation was originating in Poland, from where Poland. The name of Banana was allotted by the troops américano - British during the 32 nuclear explosions which took place between 1957 there and 1962. Banana which is above the Lentille of fresh water should be moved soon. Tabwakea is a recent village. The hill of Joe is the highest top (a dune of a dozen meters in height).

It is undoubtedly largest and the oldest atoll of the world (for its terrestrial surface, even if the bond between the size and the seniority, considered as obvious by the scientists of the XIXe century are only one theory), quoted by Charles Darwin in its study on the corals.

Redécouvert by James Cook the Christmas Eve 1777, from where its name, it was attached to the remote colony of the Gilbert islands and Ellice in 1919 - but by the the United States until in 1979 (treated between Kiribati was asserted episodically and the United States. Archaeological traces of passages Polynesia NS (between the Marquesas Islands and undoubtedly Hawaii?).

Airport, transport and economy

International airport Cassidy (Code AITA: CXI ; Code ICAO: PLCH ) located between that of Honolulu (Hawaii) (with 3:00 of flight approximately per jet) and that of Pago Pago, in the American Samoa. This airport is connected more only by flights charters, rather random, since April 2004. Flights in Partage of code with Air Kiribati with stopover with Christmas started in 2006 between Nadi and Honolulu. Episodical flights are organized by Asia Pacific Airlines, starting from Guam. Lastly, in October 2005 only, Air Pacific carried out a weekly stop on the road between Honolulu and Nadi (Fiji) (flight of Wednesday, n° FJ822, arrives at Honolulu Tuesday, departure 07:30, arrived 10:35, with a Boeing 737 -700 - return on Nadi, flight n° FJ823 (Wednesday) departure 16:00, arrived 18:40).

An important pier was built by the Japan board (in particular with the profit of NASDA, become since JAXA, which planned to install a base for its project there, from now on given up, of space shuttle Hope-X ). The ministry for the development of the group of the islands of the Line and the islands Phoenix is installed on the atoll, in the village of London. Production of fish for aquarium, algae (in lose speed since El Niño ) and of Copra. Tourism (a governmental hotel: the Captain-Cook). Aimed at obligatory Kiribati before the unloading, except for the nationals of the the Commonwealth.

Space launching

The November 8th 2005 took place a successful launch of the last satellite Inmarsat -4 from a platform close to Christmas island. (by the rocket Russo - Ukrainian Zenit-3SL carrying the satellite Inmarsat-4 F2 of six tons close to the equator).

The american company Sea Launch succeeded in placing on Geostationary orbit a satellite Inmarsat-4 F2 of six tons, launched starting from a Plate-forme Ocean Odyssey located close to the equator, in the South of the Kiribati, close to Christmas island (Kiritimati), announced the two companies in an official statement. The date of firing, initially planned for on November 5th, had been deferred three days. This satellite, once fixed on its orbit, is intended to provide services of the type high banc Internet, mobile telephony (3G) and videoconference for the Americas, with transmission speeds going up to 500 kilobytes a second. According to the companies, the satellite (described like having a size comparable with a “ double decker bus Londoner ”), after its setting on orbit by the Russo-Ukrainian rocket Zenit-3SL, started to emit after 25 minutes and would be in “ excellent state ”. Its lifespan envisaged is thirteen years. The first Inmarsat-4 satellite had been launched in March 2005 and serves since the Indian Ocean. This technology of launching starting from a floating rig, built starting from a technology derived from that of the platforms of Offshore oil rig oil drilling , was developed by the Californian company Sea Launch (created in April 1995) at the end of the years 1990. The first sales launch goes back in October 1999. Since, and in particular on March 12th, 2000, the launching of a ICO F-1, communications satellite, had failed. Remains of the lost satellite had been found with some 700 kilometers in the south-west of the archipelago of the islands Gambier (French Polynesia) and in the North-West of the Marquesas Islands (Northern of the archipelago). Other remains had been localized close to the British territory of Pitcairn. Among the companies having entrusted their satellite S to this consortium these last years: Intelsat, TELSTAR, PanAmSat, JSAT (Japan) in applications going of television, the world radio, the Internet and telephony.

External bond

Christmas island seen of space

Zh-yue: 基里地馬地島

Random links: