 NASA picture of Woleai Atoll | |
 Map of Woleai | |
  Woleai Weleya Location of Woleai in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | North Pacific |
| Coordinates | 7°22′N143°54′E / 7.367°N 143.900°E /7.367; 143.900 |
| Archipelago | Caroline |
| Total islands | 18 |
| Area | 4.5 km2 (1.7 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2 m (7 ft) |
| Administration | |
| State | Yap |
| Demographics | |
| Demonym | Woleaian |
| Population | 1081 (2000) |
| Ethnic groups | Micronesian |
Woleai (Woleaian:Weleya[1]), also known asOleai,[2] is acoral atoll of 22islands in the westernCaroline Islands in thePacific Ocean, forming alegislative district in theYap State in theFederated States of Micronesia, and located approximately 57 kilometers (35 mi; 31 nmi) west-northwest ofIfalik and 108 kilometers (67 mi; 58 nmi) northeast ofEauripik.Woleai is also the name of the largest of theislets constituting the atoll, lying to the northeast.
The population of the atoll was 1,081 in 2000,[3] on an area of 4.5 km2.
The islands constitute a double atoll forming the number eight, with a total length of 11.5 kilometers (7.1 mi; 6.2 nmi) and up to 7 kilometers (4.3 mi; 3.8 nmi) wide; however, most of reef on the southern rim is submerged or poorly developed. The northern and eastern rims have several relatively large islets. The western lagoon is deeper and larger than its eastern counterpart. Both components are part of the sameseamount. The total land area for both components combined is only 4.5 square kilometers (1.7 sq mi).[4]
TheAustronesian ancestors of theMicronesians who make up the indigenous population of the Caroline Islands arrived in the islandsc. 0-200 CE. Woleai subsequently became culturally unique among the Caroline Islands because of ascript in use among some speakers of theWoleaian language prior to 1913. Woleai was among islands to the southeast ofYap that becametributaries of theYapese Empire from about 1500 CE.
Woleai came under the control of theSpanish Empire in 1686, governed along with the rest of the Caroline Islands as part of theSpanish East Indies. During this time in the early 1800s a Woleaian Chief and Navigator named Kadu gave information to a Captain named Otto von Kotzebue concerning the Caroline Islands.[5][6][7] Spain sold the islands to theGerman Empire in 1899. In 1914, in the early weeks ofWorld War I, theEmpire of Japan seized German possessions in the Pacific, including Woleai. Assigned aLeague of Nations mandate to administer the islands after the war in accordance with theTreaty of Versailles of 1919, Japan subsequently administered Woleai under theSouth Seas Mandate.
In 1944, asAllied forces closed in on theMariana Islands duringWorld War II, a contingent of 6,426 troops from theImperial Japanese Army's 50th Independent Mixed Brigade and theImperial Japanese Navy's 44th Base Guard Unit and 216th Base Construction Unit heavily fortified Woleai. They completely leveled Wolfe Islet and made it into anairfield with a single 3,290-foot (1,003 m) runway and 2,050-foot (625 m) taxiway. They also constructed aseaplane anchorage off the southwest corner of Woleai Islet and established a weather station on Mariaon island to the west. Allied aircraft bombed the atoll and its military facilities on numerous occasions until the middle of 1945, driving its defenders underground and isolating them from supplies or reinforcements. By thesurrender of Japan on September 2, 1945, only 1,650 survivors remained of the initial 6,426-strong Japanese garrison, the rest having perished largely because of starvation and disease rather than directly in Allied air raids. TheUnited States Navydestroyer escortUSS Sloat (DE-245) picked up the surviving Japanese on September 17, 1945.[8]
Following World War II, the atoll came under the control of theUnited States. The United States administered Woleai as part of theTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands, aUnited Nations trust territory, from 1947 until 1979, when Woleai became part of the independentFederated States of Micronesia.
Public school:[9]
Woleai Airfield | |||||||||||
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| Owner | Government | ||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Government | ||||||||||
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 Interactive map of Woleai Airfield | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Woleai Civil Airfield, administered by the Federated States of Micronesia Division of Civil Aviation is located at an altitude of 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) on Falalap at7°22′36″N143°54′30″E / 7.37666°N 143.90833°E /7.37666; 143.90833 (Woleai Civil Airfield), 681 kilometers (423 mi; 368 nmi) southeast ofYap International Airport and 0.44 kilometers (0.27 mi) northeast of the main settlements on the island.[10][11] The 1,200-foot (370 m)runway has not been maintained since 1992, and the airfield has closed due to severe deterioration of the runway and the government's decision not to perform repairs.[10][11] The runway is now covered with vegetation.[12] Before the airfield closed,Caroline Islands Air provided chartered flights to it.[13] The runway was built by theEmpire of Japan during World War II. After the war it was shortlyUS Naval Base Woleai, Fleet Post Office #3246.[14]
Roman Catholicism is the main religion practiced. However there is still possibly belief in the traditional religion of the area.[15][16] Christianity became the main practice in the area in the 1950s.
