# Utirik Atoll

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Utirik_Atoll
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Utirik_Atoll.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utirik_Atoll
> Source revision: 1306637499
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Utirik Atoll** or **Utrik Atoll** ([Marshallese](/source/Marshallese_language): ***Utrōk***, /witr&k/[1]) is a [coral atoll](/source/Coral_atoll) of 10 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the [Ratak Chain](/source/Ratak_Chain) of the [Marshall Islands](/source/Marshall_Islands). Its total land area is only 2.4 km2 (0.94 square miles), but it encloses a lagoon with an area of 57.7 km2 (22.29 square miles). It is located approximately 47 kilometers (29 mi) east of [Ujae Atoll](/source/Ujae_Atoll). The population of Utirik Atoll was 264 at the 2021 census.[2] It is one of the northernmost Islands of the Marshall Islands with permanent habitation.

The larger islets are:

- Utirik (*Utrōk*[1])
- Aon (*Aon*[1])
- Bikrak (*Pekrak*[1])
- Pike (*Pike*[1])
- Āllok (*Āllok*[1])
- Nalap (*Ņa-ļap*[1])

## History

Historical artifacts have been unearthed on the Atoll which date back to ca. 380 C.E., including tools likely used by early [Micronesian peoples](/source/Micronesian_peoples).[3] Its first recorded sighting was by the Spanish navigator [Álvaro de Saavedra](/source/%C3%81lvaro_de_Saavedra_Cer%C3%B3n) on board the ship *Florida* on 29 December 1527.[4] Together with [Rongelap](/source/Rongelap_Atoll), [Ailinginae](/source/Ailinginae_Atoll) and [Toke](/source/Toke_Atoll) atolls, they were charted as *Islas de los Reyes* (Islands of the Three Wise Kings in [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language)) due to the proximity of [Epiphany](/source/Epiphany_(holiday)). Utirik Atoll was claimed by the [German Empire](/source/German_Empire) and the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1885.[5] After World War I, the island came under the [South Seas Mandate](/source/South_Seas_Mandate) of the [Empire of Japan](/source/Empire_of_Japan). Following the end of World War II, Utirik went under the control of the United States as part of the [Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands](/source/Trust_Territory_of_the_Pacific_Islands). Utirik was one of four atolls affected by [nuclear fallout](/source/Nuclear_fallout) from [Castle Bravo](/source/Castle_Bravo), the largest of the many [nuclear weapon tests](/source/Nuclear_weapons_testing) conducted at [Bikini Atoll](/source/Bikini_Atoll) immediately following World War II. Research is still being done to ascertain the radiation levels, though many scientists agree that no harmful effects from the radiation are still present. The island has been part of the independent Republic of the Marshall Islands since 1986.

## Education

The [Marshall Islands Public School System](/source/Marshall_Islands_Public_School_System) operates Utrik Elementary School.[6] [Northern Islands High School](/source/Northern_Islands_High_School) on [Wotje](/source/Wotje) serves the community.[7]

## Temperature record

On 24 August 2016, Utirik Atoll recorded a temperature of 35.6 °C (96.1 °F), the highest temperature ever recorded in the Marshall Islands.[8]

## See also

- Also contaminated by the Castle Bravo test: [Rongelap Atoll](/source/Rongelap_Atoll), [Ailinginae Atoll](/source/Ailinginae_Atoll), [Rongerik Atoll](/source/Rongerik_Atoll)

## References

1. [Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index](http://www.trussel2.com/MOD/LocU.htm#Utr%C5%8Dk)

1. ["Republic of the Marshall Islands 2021 Census Report, Volume 1: Basic Tables and Administrative Report"](https://web.archive.org/web/20240814145039/https://spccfpstore1.blob.core.windows.net/digitallibrary-docs/files/60/605c69d76a40195baa447b5a558b0e02.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=RZrL1TimAU9MUOOLm9554z3uDv2xXb%2BGtSq3l%2BPm5AM%3D&se=2025-01-31T17%3A26%3A17Z&sp=r&rscc=public%2C%20max-age%3D864000%2C%20max-stale%3D86400&rsct=application%2Fpdf&rscd=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22Marshall_Islands_2021_Census_Vol1_Table_report.pdf%22). *Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division*. [Pacific Community](/source/Pacific_Community). May 30, 2023. Archived from [the original](https://spccfpstore1.blob.core.windows.net/digitallibrary-docs/files/60/605c69d76a40195baa447b5a558b0e02.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=RZrL1TimAU9MUOOLm9554z3uDv2xXb%2BGtSq3l%2BPm5AM%3D&se=2025-01-31T17%3A26%3A17Z&sp=r&rscc=public%2C%20max-age%3D864000%2C%20max-stale%3D86400&rsct=application%2Fpdf&rscd=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22Marshall_Islands_2021_Census_Vol1_Table_report.pdf%22) on 2024-08-14. Retrieved September 27, 2023.

1. Weisler, Marshall (October 2001). ["Life on the Edge: Prehistoric Settlement and Economy on Utrōk Atoll, Northern Marshall Islands"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/40387201). *Archaeology in Oceania*. **36** (3): 109–133. [doi:10.1002/j.1834-4453.2001.tb00486.x](https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4453.2001.tb00486.x). [JSTOR 40387201](https://www.jstor.org/stable/40387201). Retrieved 31 March 2021.

1. Brand, Donald D. *The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations* The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.121.

1. Churchill, William (1920). "Germany's Lost Pacific Empire". *Geographical Review*. **10** (2): 84–90. [Bibcode:1920GeoRv..10...84C](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1920GeoRv..10...84C). [doi:10.2307/207706](https://doi.org/10.2307/207706). [JSTOR 207706](https://www.jstor.org/stable/207706)

1. "[Public Schools](http://pss.edu.mh/en/public-schools) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180221144020/http://pss.edu.mh/en/public-schools) 2018-02-21 at the Wayback Machine." Marshall Islands Public School System. Retrieved on February 21, 2018.

1. "[Annual Report 2011-2012](http://www.pss.edu.mh/files/PSSDocuments/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%20MOE%202011-2012.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180222090338/http://www.pss.edu.mh/files/PSSDocuments/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%20MOE%202011-2012.pdf) 2018-02-22 at the Wayback Machine." [Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands)](/source/Ministry_of_Education_(Marshall_Islands)). Retrieved on February 22, 2018. p. 54 (PDF p. 55/118). "Northern Islands High School takes students from the Ratak Ean zone including schools in Aur, Maloelap, Wotje, Ailuk, Utrik, Likiep and Mejit."

1. Masters, Jeff & Henson, Bob (18 January 2017). ["Confirmed: 2016 the Warmest Year in History of Global Recordkeeping"](https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/confirmed-2016-the-warmest-year-in-history-of-global-recordkeeping.html). Wunderground. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180507221643/https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/confirmed-2016-the-warmest-year-in-history-of-global-recordkeeping.html) 7 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 May 2018.

## External links

- [Marshall Islands site](http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/atolls/utirik.html)
- [Entry at Oceandots.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/marshall/utirik.php) December 23, 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- [Video: Glimpse of Utrik Atoll](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCCDJUblT78)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Utirik Atoll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utirik_Atoll) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utirik_Atoll?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.