Line Islands

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Lagoon shore at Fanning Atoll

The Line Islands are a group of atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands. The Line Islands that are part of the Republic of Kiribati are in a time zone with the earliest time in the world: UTC + 14. The time of day is the same as in Hawaii, but one day ahead; and even 25 hours ahead of some other islands in Oceania.

Northern Line Islands

The Northern Line Islands lie between the equator and 6°N, and about 160°W. A few belong to the United States, but most are now part of Kiribati. They include Kiribati possessions (two names, one in Gilbertese one in English, both constitutional):

Kiritimati (Christmas Island)
Tabuaeran (Fanning Island)
Teraina (Washington Island)

Kiritimati is the largest (in terms of land area, only) atoll in the world—it is about 90 statute miles (150 km) in circuit and includes a lagoon that is now mostly dry land. Kiritimati was discovered by Captain Cook on Christmas day in 1777. The islands were annexed by Britain in 1888 with a view to laying the Pacific cable with Tabuaeran (then Fanning Island) as a relay station. That cable functioned between 1902 and 1963 except for a short period in 1914.

The total population of the three atolls in 1900 was about 300. Currently there are about 5,300 people on Kiritimati, 1,800 on Tabuaeran, and 2,000 on Teraina (also known as Washington Island) for a total of 9,100 on the Kiribatese portion.

Copra and "Petfish" are the main export products (with seaweed).

The American possessions in the Northern Line Islands are uninhabited:

Southern Line Islands

The Southern Line Islands are all uninhabited.

Kiribati possessions:

The one American island in this group is uninhabited:

Jarvis Island

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