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Caroline Island or Caroline Atoll (also known as Millennium Island and Beccisa Island), is the easternmost of the uninhabited coral atolls which comprise the southern Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean. First sighted by Europeans in 1606, claimed by the United Kingdom in 1868, and part of the Republic of Kiribati since the island nation's independence in 1979, Caroline Island has remained relatively untouched and is considered one of the world's most pristine tropical islands, despite guano mining, copra harvesting, and human habitation in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is home to one of the world's largest populations of the coconut crab and is an important breeding site for seabirds, most notably the sooty tern. The atoll is currently designated as a wildlife sanctuary. In 2014 the Kiribati government established a 12-nautical-mile fishing exclusion zone around each of the southern Line Islands (Caroline (commonly called Millennium), Flint, Vostok, Malden, and Starbuck). The atoll is best known for its role in the millennium celebrations. A 1995 realignment of the International Date Line made Caroline Island one of the first points of land on Earth to reach January 1, 2000 on the calendar. ==Geography and climate== Caroline Atoll lies near the southeastern end of the Line Islands, a string of atolls extending across the equator some south of the Hawaiian Islands in the central Pacific. The slightly crescent-shaped atoll (3.76 km2 or 1.45 mi2 in land area) consists of 39 separate islets surrounding a narrow lagoon, 8.7 by 1.2 km2 in size, or with an area of 6.3 km2. The total atoll area, including dry land, lagoon and reef flat, measures 13 by 2.5 km, or 24 km2. The islets rise to a height of only above sea level. The islets, like those of all atolls, share a common geologic origin and consist of sand deposits and limestone rock set atop a coral reef. Three large islets make up the bulk of Caroline's land area: Nake Islet (1.04 km2 or 0.40 mi2) at the north; Long Islet (0.76 km2 or 0.29 mi2) at the northeast of the lagoon and South Islet (1.07 km2 or 0.41 mi2). The remaining assembly of small islets, most of which were named during the 1988 ecological survey, conducted by Angela and Cameron Kepler, fall into four major groupings: the South Nake Islets, the Central Leeward Islets, the Southern Leeward Islets, and the Windward Islets (see ). Caroline's islets are particularly ephemeral— over the course of a century of observation, several of the smallest islets have been documented to appear or disappear entirely following major storms, while the shapes of larger ones have significantly changed.〔 The central lagoon, roughly , is shallow – at most in depth – and is crossed repeatedly by narrow coral heads and patch reefs. Reef flats generally extend about from shore— although some sources report them to extend more than a kilometer from land— and make boat landings perilous except at high tide.〔 There are no natural landings, anchorages, or deep water openings into the central lagoon; water which spills into the lagoon over shallow channels at high tide is contained within the surrounding reef and remains stable despite ocean tides. Most landings are generally made at a small break in the reef at the northwest corner of the South Islet (visible on the satellite photo above).〔 Densities of giant clams reach up to four per square foot in parts of the lagoon. The most common species is the “small giant clam” ''Tridacna maxima'' and largest clam species, ''Tridacna gigas'' is also found in the lagoon.〔 There is no standing fresh water on Caroline Island, although the Nake and South Islets harbor underground freshwater aquifers (or Ghyben-Herzberg lenses),〔 〕 and wells have been built to tap drinking water for temporary settlements. Soils on Caroline are similarly poor, dominated by coral gravel and sand, with significant organic content present only within stable, forested island centers. Guano deposits make island soil, where it does exist, nitrogen-rich; but even in the oldest and most vegetated regions of the atoll, soils are only a few centimeters (one or two inches) thick.〔 Like the rest of Kiribati, Caroline Island enjoys a tropical maritime climate which is consistently hot and humid. Meteorological records are sparse, but temperatures generally range between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius (82 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit) year round.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 work=Atlapedia Online )〕 Caroline lies within a region of highly variable precipitation, but is estimated to receive an average of of rain annually. Tides are on the order of and trade winds, generally from the northeast, mean that corner of the island experiences the roughest seas.〔 Caroline Island is among the most remote islands on earth– from the closest land at Flint Island, from the nearest permanent settlement on Kiritimati, from the Kiribati capital of Tarawa, and from the nearest continental land in North America. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Caroline Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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