VirtualGlobetrotting: Marshall Islands Maps & Satellite Images

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Bravo Crater
jbottero (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: jbottero.
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This huge hole in the reef at Bikini Atoll is where the Bravo device was detonated. The 15 megaton thermonuclear device vaporized two islands and half of a third, leaving a crater which is 6000 feet in diameter and 240 feet deep.

The Prinz Eugen
neotrix (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: neotrix.
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The Prinz Eugen was an enlarged Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser which served with the Kriegsmarine of Germany during World War II.
The ship sank following Operation Crossroads at Kwajalein Atoll in 1946.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads

Bikini Atoll
AlbinoFlea (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: AlbinoFlea.
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Site of the first Hydrogen Bomb test.
From http://www.rmiembassyus.org/Nuclear%20Issues.htm:
Bikini's weather outlook downgraded to "unfavorable" and Joint Task Force 7 directs several ships to move 20 miles to the south to remove them from the expected fallout zone. Despite weather reports showing that winds are blowing in the direction of inhabited islands, the March 1 Bravo hydrogen bomb test is detonated at Bikini. At 15 megatons, it is 1,000 times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb. Within hours a gritty, white ash is enveloping islanders on Rongelap and Ailinginae Atolls. A few hours later, American weathermen are exposed to the snowstorm of fallout on Rongerik, and still later the people of Utrik and other islands experience the fallout "mist". Those exposed experience nausea, vomiting and itching skin and eyes. March 3 Rongelap islanders are evacuated 48 hours later, and Utrik is evacuated 72 hours after Bravo. Both groups are taken to Kwajalein for observation. Skin burns on the heavily exposed people begin to develop, and later their hair falls out. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission issues a statement to the press calling Bravo a "routine atomic test", and stating that some Americans and Marshallese were "unexpectedly exposed to some radioactivity. There were no burns. All were reported well."

Kwajalein Atoll
kjfitz (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kjfitz.
Kwajalein is one of the world's largest coral atolls as measured by area of enclosed water. Comprising 97 islands and islets, it has a land area of 16.4 km² (6.33 mi²), and surrounds one of the largest lagoons in the world, with an area of 2174 km² (839 mi²).
These are the two main islands used by the U.S. personnel, and their families are accommodated in trailers or hard housing. Most unaccompanied personnel live in apartment-style housing.
Since 1944, when American forces captured the atoll from the Japanese in the Battle of Kwajalein, it has been used for military purposes by the U.S., while escaping the fates of the nearby atolls of Bikini, Rongelap, and Enewetak—Kwajalein has never been a site for nuclear detonations and has never been covered with any significant nuclear fallout from the tests that were conducted during the 1940s and 1950s. It was, however, the main support site for this weapons-testing program, namely Operation Crossroads.

SpaceX launch pad
kjfitz (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kjfitz.
The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) is a space-transportation startup company founded by Elon Musk. Its stated goal is to improve the cost and reliability of access to space "ultimately by a factor of ten". It is based in El Segundo, California, USA.
SpaceX is developing a family of partially reusable two-stage kerosene–liquid-oxygen launch vehicles.
The launch crew in the Marshall Islands comprises 25 persons, with 6 in mission control.

Radioactive dump site
AlejoHausner (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: AlejoHausner.
Cactus crater on Runit island, part of the Enewetok atoll, in the Marshall Islands. Radioactive debris from many nuclear bomb tests was dumped into this crater, which was capped with 18-inch-thick concrete panels in 1982. Soil from many of the contaminated islands was scraped off. The original inhabitants of the atoll were allowed to return in 1980, despite radioactive elements like Cesium 137 in the ecosystem.

Shipwreck
gamma (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: gamma.
Kwajalein Atoll (Marshallese: Kuwajleen [kʷuw.wɔ͡ɛt̪ʲ.l̪ʲɪn̪ʲ]; common English pronunciation [ˈkʷɒʤəˌlɪn], often nicknamed Kwaj [kʷɒʤ] by English-speaking residents of the U.S. facilities) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). It lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nautical miles (3900 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii at 8°43′N 167°44′E. Kwajalein is one of the world's largest coral atolls as measured by area of enclosed water. Comprising 97 islets, it has a land area of 16.4 km², and surrounds one of the largest lagoons in the world, with an area of 2174 km².
Since 1944, when the U.S. captured the atoll from the Japanese in the Battle of Kwajalein, it has been used for military purposes, while escaping the tragic fates of the nearby atolls of Bikini, Rongelap and Enewetak as the atoll has never been nuked or covered with any significant nuclear fallout. Eleven of the 97 islands are leased by the United States and are part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS), formerly known as Kwajalein Missile Range. RTS includes radar installations, optics, telemetry, and communications equipment which are used for ballistic missile and missile interceptor testing and space operations support. Kwajalein hosts one of three ground antennas (others are on Diego Garcia and Ascension Island) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational system. More recently, the extensive infrastructure has attracted SpaceX, which built a commercial launch site on Omelek Island for its Falcon 1 and Falcon 5 rockets. The U.S. Army makes some of its technology available for commercial endeavors in exchange for range fees.
Kwajalein Island is the southernmost, and the largest, of the islands in the Kwajalein atoll. The northernmost, and second largest, island is Roi-Namur. These are the two main islands used by the U.S. Staff and their families are accommodated in trailers or hard housing. Unaccompanied personnel live in apartment style housing. The population of Kwajalein island is approximately 2,500, all of whom are U.S. staff. The primary mode of personal transportation is the bicycle and housing is free for all personnel.
US Infantry inspect a hole after capturing the Kwajalein Atoll from Japan during World War IIThe military history of Kwajalein has made tourism almost non-existent and has kept the environment in pristine condition. Kwajalein lagoon offers excellent wreck diving of mostly Japanese ships, a few planes and the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Spear fishing and deep sea fishing are also exceptional. 80 degree water temperature and 100 foot visibility are common when scuba diving on the ocean side of the atoll.
A neighboring island Ebeye has the largest population in the atoll, with approximately 12,000 native residents living on 80 acres (320,000 m²) of land. Ebeye is one of the most densely populated places in the world.
Roi-Namur used to be 3 separate islands: Roi, Namur and Enidrikdrik. After WWII, while the US had control of the atoll, they mostly paved over Enidrikdrik and renamed the resulting island Roi-Namur.
Since 1961 several tests of anti-ballistic missiles were performed on Kwajalein. Therefore there are launchpads on Illeginni Island ( 9.0000° N 167.7000° E), Roi-Namur Island ( 9.4012° N 167.4663° E) and Kwajalein Drop Zone, Pacif

Phased array radar on Kwajalein Atoll
kjfitz (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kjfitz.
Can't find any info on this one.

Island where H-bomb was tested
AlejoHausner (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: AlejoHausner.
Elugelab island in the Eniwetok atoll in the US Marshall islands, where the first hydrogen bomb (code name Mike) was detonated on 31 Oct 1952. A declassified document at http://worf.eh.doe.gov/data/ihp1d/126828e.pdf shows where island used to be.

Ebeye Island
Mike1989 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Mike1989.
Ebeye (pron.: /ˈiːbaɪ/ ee-by; Marshallese: Epjā, [ɛ̯ɛbʲ(ɛ)zʲææ̯]; locally, Ibae, [i̯i͡ɯbˠɑɑ̯ɛ̯ɛɛ̯], after the English pronunciation.) and is the most populous island of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the center for Marshallese culture in the Ralik Chain of the archipelago. Settled on 80 acres (360,000 m²) of land, it has a population of more than 15,000. Over 50% of the population is estimated to be under the age of 18.

Meck Island (Kwajalein Atoll)
Alkavian (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Alkavian.
The Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, commonly referred to as the Reagan Test Site (formerly Kwajalein Missile Range), is a missile test range in the Pacific Ocean. It covers about 750,000 square miles (1,900,000 km2) and includes rocket launch sites at the Kwajalein Atoll (on multiple islands), Wake Island, and Aur Atoll. It primarily functions as a test facility for U.S. missile defense and space research programs. The Reagan Test Site is under the command of the US Army Kwajalein Atoll, or USAKA.

Kwajalein ballistic missile intercept launch site

Roi-Namur
Mike1989 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Mike1989.
Roi-Namur (English pronunciation: /ˌɹɔɪ-nəˈmʊə(ɹ)/) is an island in the northern part of the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands. Germany annexed the Marshalls in 1885 but didn't place government officials on the islands until 1906, leaving island affairs to a group of powerful German trading companies. Japan took over in 1914 and colonised the Marshalls extensively, developing and fortifying large bases on many of the islands.

Shipwreck
gamma (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: gamma.

Bucholz Army Airfield
Mike1989 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Mike1989.
Bucholz Army Airfield (IATA: KWA, ICAO: PKWA, FAA LID: KWA) is a United States Army airfield located on Kwajalein Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Its position is ideal for refueling during trans-Pacific flights, and the airport is available to civilians through Air Marshall Islands and United Airlines.
Since the entire Kwajalein Island is a military base, non-military passengers on commercial flights are transported to and from the neighboring island of Ebeye, the civilian population center of Kwajalein Atoll.

ALTAIR (Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) Long Range Tracking and Identification Radar)
AlbinoFlea (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: AlbinoFlea.
From fas.org:
ALTAIR (Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) Long Range Tracking and Identification Radar) is a high-resolution radar located at Kwajalein Atoll in the western Pacific that provides precision metric, signature, and imaging for deep-space operations, satellite observations, strategic reentry missions, and multiple-intercept engagement tracking. ALTAIR is a near earth and deep space tracking radar. As one of the three radars composing the Space Surveillance Network, ALTAIR can track one third of the objects in the geosynchronous belt, more than 42,000 tracks per year. The other two radars are the ALCOR (ARPA Lincoln Band Observable Radar) and the TRADEX (Target Resolution and Discrimination Experiment). ALTAIR is unique because it is the only radar in the Space Surveillance Network with an equatorial location.

Site of the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in the summer of 1946. Its purpose was to test the effect of nuclear weapons on naval ships. The series consisted of two detonations, each with a yield of 23 kilotons: Able was detonated at an altitude of 520 feet (158 m) on July 1, 1946; Baker was detonated 90 feet (27 m) underwater on July 25, 1946.

Tracking and Discrimination Experiment (TRADEX)
AlbinoFlea (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: AlbinoFlea.
From fas.org:
The TRADEX (Target Resolution and Discrimination Experiment) radar is a high-power, high-sensitivity instrumentation radar that was originally designed to track and gather signature data on a single target. TRADEX is now one of three radars composing the Space Surveillance Network.

Wreckage of B-24 Liberator 'St. Quentin Quail'
Crashed on January 2, 1944 as a result of damage incurred during an attack on the Japanese airbase of Taroa. Two of the crew members died during or as a result of the crash and were buried on Arno. Eight of the crew members survived and were housed and fed by the Marshallese on Arno Atoll from January 3 to January 16, 1944, on which date a Japanese patrol boat arrived from Taroa and captured them. The airmen were taken to Maloelap Atoll where they remained until January 20, 1944.

Majuro
Majuro is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of only 9.7 square kilometres (3.7 sq mi) but encloses a lagoon of 295 square kilometres (114 sq mi). As with other atolls in the Marshall Islands, Majuro 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.

Bigej Island
Bigej or Begej /ˈbiːdʒiː/ (Marshallese: Pikeej, [pʲi͡ɯɡʌ͡ɛːtʲ]) Island is part of Kwajalein Atoll in the Ralik Chain in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), 2,100 nautical miles (3900 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Japanese fuel tanks from World War II are still present on the island. Bigej is not part of the Reagan Test Site.
Bigej is uninhabited and has no buildings on it but many people from Kwajalein island in the south of the atoll come up to visit it for picnics and camping. It is covered with lush tropical palm trees and jungle. It is a site of cultural significance to the indigenous people of Kwajalein, as are most of the small islands throughout the atoll. Some Kwajalein landowners have proposed developing Bigej to look similar to the landscaped beauty of Kwajalein island, for the exclusive use of Kwajalein atoll landowners and their families. Recently Kwajalein landowners have already begun resettling Bigej, establishing several tents and simple homes there along the southern lagoon side.

Bikini Atoll Airport (BII)
WacoKidd110 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: WacoKidd110.
Also known as Enyu Airfield

Marshall Islands Capitol building
Xeba73 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Xeba73.
The capitol building houses the offices of the president, cabinet, staff, ministers, senators, attorney general and chief secretary. The Council of the Iroij -- the traditional leaders of the Marshall Islands -- is also found here. Other government departments such as finance and foreign affairs are located in the capitol building as well.

Shipwreck
Drudii (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Drudii.

Kwajalein Island
pak555 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: pak555.

Freeflight International Airport
Freeflight International Airport, also known as Dyess Army Airfield, is a military airbase at Roi-Namur on Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. It is owned by the United States Army. This airport is assigned the location identifier ROI by the FAA, but has received no designation by the IATA.

Marshall Islands International Airport (MAJ)
kkeps (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kkeps.

Enewetak Auxiliary Airfield (ENT)
WacoKidd110 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: WacoKidd110.

Delap Dock, Marshall Islands
fin (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: fin.

Ailuk Airport (AIM)
kkeps (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kkeps.

Rongelap Airport (RNP)
WacoKidd110 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: WacoKidd110.

Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Marshallese: Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļ),[note 1] is an island country located in the northern Pacific Ocean. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia, with the population of 68,480 people spread out over 34 low-lying coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The islands share maritime boundaries with the Federated States of Micronesia to the west, Wake Island to the north,[note 2] Kiribati to the south-east, and Nauru to the south. The most populous atoll is Majuro, which also acts as the capital.
Micronesian colonists gradually settled the Marshall Islands during the 2nd millennium BC, with inter-island navigation made possible using traditional stick charts. Islands in the archipelago were first explored by Europeans in the 1520s, with Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar sighting an atoll in August 1526. Other expeditions by Spanish and English ships followed, with the islands' current name stemming from British explorer John Marshall. Recognised as part of the Spanish East Indies in 1874, the islands were sold to Germany in 1884, and became part of German New Guinea in 1885. The Empire of Japan occupied the Marshall Islands in World War I, which were later joined with other former German territories in 1919 by the League of Nations to form the South Pacific Mandate. In World War II, the islands were conquered by the United States in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign. Along with other Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands were then consolidated into the United-States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Self-government was achieved in 1979, and full sovereignty in 1986, under a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
Politically, the Marshall Islands is a presidential republic in free association with the United States, with the US providing defense, funding grants, and access to social services. Having few natural resources, the islands' wealth is based on a service economy, as well as some fishing and agriculture, with a large percentage of the islands' gross domestic product coming from United States aid. The country uses the United States dollar as its currency. The majority of citizens of the Marshall Islands are of Marshallese descent, with small numbers of immigrants from the Philippines and other Pacific islands. The two official languages are Marshallese, a member of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, and English. Almost the entire population of the islands practises some religion, with three-quarters of the country either following the United Church of Christ – Congregational in the Marshall Islands (UCCCMI) or the Assemblies of God.

Ebon Airport (EBO)

Jaluit Airport (UIT)

Mejit Airport (MJB)

Utirik Airport (UTK)

Mili Airport (MIJ)

Woja Airport (WJA)

Illeginni Island
pak555 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: pak555.

Namorik Airport (NDK)

Djarrit
kkeps (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kkeps.
Most densely populated of the Marshall Islands

Gugeegue Island
pak555 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: pak555.

Likiep High Point (highest point in the Marshall Islands)
This rise on the island of Likiep is 10 m (33 ft) above sea level, and is the highest point within the Marshall Islands.

Lae Atoll
Fab (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Fab.

Ujae Atoll
Fab (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Fab.

Beran Island Resort
Fab (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Fab.

Ine Airport
IATA: IMI, FAA LID: N20

Rongerik Atoll

Ailinginae Atoll

Lae Airport
IATA: LML, ICAO: MH-LML

Tabal Airstrip
IATA: TBV, ICAO: TBV

Rongelap Atoll

Elenak Airport
IATA: EAL

Kaginen Island

Ebadon Airport
IATA: EBN

Namu Island

Wotho Atoll

Namu Atoll