Kiritimati is an island in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a part of the Republic of Kiritimati and is often also called Christmas Island. It is known for having the biggest land area in any coral atoll; it accounts to about world: 642 square kilometres/248 sq mi. The entire Kiritbati takes up about 33 Pacific atolls and this island takes over about 70% of it.
The entire island can be about 150 km in perimeter but in addition to the main island there are also a number of smaller ones. Namely; Motu Upua, Ngaontetaake and Motu Tabu. Kiritimati was first discovered by the European Captain James Cook on the 24th of December in the year 1777. It gets its name 'Kiritmati' form the Gilbertese spelling of the word 'Christmas.' This place played a relatively important and was used by the American armed forces during the Second World War.
The entire island can be about 150 km in perimeter but in addition to the main island there are also a number of smaller ones. Namely; Motu Upua, Ngaontetaake and Motu Tabu. Kiritimati was first discovered by the European Captain James Cook on the 24th of December in the year 1777. It gets its name 'Kiritmati' form the Gilbertese spelling of the word 'Christmas.' This place played a relatively important and was used by the American armed forces during the Second World War.
