Ujae Atoll (Marshallese: or , Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index) is a coral atoll of 15 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of . It is located about west of Kwajalein Atoll.
History
In folklore, the Marshallese people have long considered the island to be home to timon (demons).
Its first recorded sighting was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Saavedra on 21 September 1529.Coello, Francisco "Conflicto hispano-alemán" Boletín de Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid, t.XIX. 2º semestre 1885, Madrid, pp.235, 267, 268 Another sighting was reported by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos in January 1543.Sharp, Andrew The discovery of the Pacific Islands Oxford, 1960, p.32.
In 1885, the German Empire claimed Ujae Atoll along with the rest of the Marshall Islands. After World War I, the island came under the South Seas Mandate of the Empire of Japan. The island became part of the vast US Naval Base Marshall Islands. 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.
The population of Ujae Atoll was 310 at the 2021 census.
Education Marshall Islands Public School System operates Ujae Elementary School."Public Schools ." Marshall Islands Public School System. Retrieved on February 21, 2018. Kwajalein Atoll High School on Kwajalein serves the community."Annual Report 2011-2012 ." Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands). Retrieved on February 22, 2018. p. 54 (PDF p. 55/118). "Kwajalein Atoll High School enrolls students from Kwajalein and the Kabinmeto zone including schools in Ujae, Lae, and Wotto."
Transportation Ujae Airport is a public use airstrip on Ujae Island.
References
External links Marshall Islands site