Pohnpei
The Garden Island
Nan Madol-The Legend | Nan Madol | Diggers | The Changing Pohnpeian Family | Pohnpeian Group Keeps Families United | Artifact Find
 Pohnpei State Flag
Other Pohnpei Articles:
State Bird Pohnpei Lory, Pohnpei State, Micronesia Photographic Print Aw, Michael Buy at AllPosters.com Pohnpei State Government Links
Pohnpei State Pohnpei Legislature Pohnpei State Office of the Governor State of Pohnpei by FSM Visitors Board State of Pohnpei Investment and Business Development Opportunities About the State of Pohnpei by Legal Information System 
Tourists and Boats, Pohnpei Lagoon, Micronesia Photographic Print Elk III, John Buy at AllPosters.com |
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Located about halfway between Honolulu and manila, Pohnpei lies in the middle of the Eastern Caroline Islands. It is the largest island in the Federated States of Micronesia with a land area of 334 square kilometers, boasts a towering, rugged interior and is of volcanic origin.
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Sokehs Ridge, Micronesia Photographic Print Elk III, John Buy at AllPosters.com 
WWII Japanese Guns in Jungle, Sokehs Ridge, Micronesia Photographic Print Elk III, John Buy at AllPosters.com |
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Pohnpei Island is a deeply indented, jagged circle, some 21 kilometers in diameter and 112 kilometers in circumference. Its main features of topography are the outer barrier reef, the intertidal lagoon, the fringe reef and mangrove forest, the lowland area on the outer edges of the island, and the central mountain rain forests. Pohnpei State is divided into 11 municipalities, six of which are on the main island.
The main island is ringed by 25
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smaller, widely scattered coral atolls which lie outside the barrier reef, and along with the main island of Pohnpei make up the State of Pohnpei.
Pohnpei's population of around 34,000 lives mostly on the main island and is engaged in subsistence agriculture and a variety of small agricultural and handicraft industries. Pohnpei's black pepper for example, although expensive, is regarded as the finest in the world.
Pohnpei's shoreline is mostly covered by mangrove swamps and some artificial beaches have been created to allow easier water access. The nearby atoll islands, however, boast magnificent beaches.
Pohnpei has recently been tagged the ”Garden Island”of Micronesia, and with one look at the luxuriant vegetation, it's not difficult to understand why. The island abounds in tropical forests, cascading mountain streams, spectacular waterfalls, hidden pools, and exquisite flora.
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Most intriguing of all of Pohnpei's spectacles are the ruins of Nan Madol, an ancient Venice-like city from which, it is said, the Saudeleurs ruled Pohnpei. Apparently the construction and modification of Nan Madol (which is made up of some 92 man-made islets) commenced around 500 AD and some of the buildings have been dated to as recently as 1500 AD.
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The major buildings were constructed of immense stone logs, six meters long, weighing several tons. Some of these logs are stacked crisscross to form walls 12 meters high and five meters thick! The Saudeleurs are believed to have taken over at around 1000 AD and remained in power until they were defeated in 1628.
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Nan Madol, because of its remote sea-shore location is best accessed by boat. Also, because of its huge size (80 hectares), it s impossible to see more than a handful of islets on any one trip.
Read
Ancient Micronesia & the Lost City of Nan
Madol: Including Palau, Yap, Kosrae, Chuuk & the Marianas (Lost Cities of the
Pacific)
for more about Nan Madol.The more adventurous will revel in Pohnpei's underwater spectacles, especially at Ant and Pakin Atolls. Pakin boasts some of the best gorgonian fans in the world.
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Pakin boasts some of the best gorgonian fans in the world.
The outlying islands are accessible by boat, and in the reef surrounding the main island, 18 passes offer a wide variety of coral and marine life
 Sabatier, Leon Jean Baptiste, d. 1887.
Habitans de l'ile Pouynipet avec leurs canots, Iles Carolines
For more about Pohnpei, check out
Paradise Is Full of Bugs
and
Nest in the Wind: Adventures in Anthropology
on a Tropical Island, Second Edition
.If you want more information about Pohnpei or the other FSM islands, please email us.
And be sure and check out our books.
© 2006 nopukob.com
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