ABSTRACT
The Caroline Islands are an expansive group in the central Pacific that extends across 3,000 km and is peopled by Micronesians. They are divided into two political entities. The first is Palau (Belau), an archipelago to the west that includes about 340 islands. The rest of the Caroline group is composed politically of four Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). While self-governing, both Palau and the FSM are aligned with the U.S. There are 38 atolls among the Caroline group forming rims that run the gamut of types including open, closed, semi-closed, and submerged. Most of the atolls lie between 5°N and 10°N of the equator and are within the path of the eastward-flowing North Equatorial Countercurrent. Notable among these are Poluwat and Zohhoiiyoru atolls, which are the emergent part of much larger atolls that are drowned, Sapwuahfik Atoll with its extraordinarily deep lagoon, and Pingelap, many of whose residents inherited a genetic eye defect that renders them highly photophobic and unable to see color. Wind and waves are generally from the east and tides range up to roughly 1.5 m.
