Yap
Encyclopedia
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island
in the Caroline Islands
of the western Pacific Ocean
. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia
. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four continental islands (hence the alternative name of the Yap Islands). The four are very close together and joined within a common coral reef
and entirely formed from an uplift of the Philippine Sea Plate. The land is mostly rolling hills densely covered with vegetation
. Mangrove
swamps line much of the shore. An outer barrier reef
surrounds the islands, enclosing a lagoon
between the fringing barrier reef.
Colonia
is the capital of the State of Yap. It administers both Yap proper and fourteen atoll
s reaching to the east and south for some 800 km (497.1 mi), namely Eauripik
, Elato
, Fais
, Faraulep
, Gaferut
, Ifalik
, Lamotrek
, Ngulu
, Olimarao, Piagailoe (West Fayu), Pikelot
, Sorol
, Ulithi
, and Woleai
Atolls, as well as the island of Satawal
(municipalities in bold).
2000 population was 11,241 in both Colonia and ten other municipalities. The state has a total land area of 102 km² (39.4 sq mi).
Yap is notable for its stone money
, known as Rai: large doughnut
-shaped, carved disks of (usually) calcite
, up to 4 m (12 ft) in diameter (most are much smaller). The smallest can be as little as 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) in diameter. There are five major types of moneys: Mmbul, Gaw, Fe' or Rai, Yar, and Reng, this last being only 0.3 m (1 ft) in diameter. Many of them were brought from other islands, as far as New Guinea
, but most came in ancient times from Palau
. Their value is based on both the stone's size and its history. Historically the Yapese valued the disks because the material looks like quartz
, and these were the shiniest objects around. Eventually the stones became legal tender and were even mandatory in some payments.
The stones' value was kept high due to the difficulty and hazards involved in obtaining them. To quarry the stones, Yapese adventurers had to sail to distant islands and deal with local inhabitants who were sometimes hostile. Once quarried, the disks had to be transported back to Yap on rafts towed behind wind-powered canoes. The scarcity of the disks, and the effort and peril required to get them, made them valuable to the Yapese. However, in 1874, an enterprising Irishman named David O'Keefe
hit upon the idea of employing the Yapese to import more "money" in the form of shiploads of large stones, also from Palau. O'Keefe then traded these stones with the Yapese for other commodities such as sea cucumbers and copra
. Although some of the O'Keefe stones are larger than the canoe-transported stones, they are less valuable than the earlier stones due to the comparative ease in which they were obtained. Approximately 6,800 of them are scattered around the island.
As no more disks are being produced or imported, this money supply
is fixed. The islanders know who owns which piece but do not necessarily move them when ownership changes. Their size and weight (the largest ones require 20 adult men to carry) make them very difficult to move around. Although today the United States dollar
is the currency used for everyday transactions in Yap, the stone disks are still used for more traditional or ceremonial exchange. The stone disks may change ownership during marriages, transfers of land title, or as compensation for damages suffered by an aggrieved party.
is related to the Malay languages of Southeast Asia, though with strong New Guinean influences. In contrast, the people of Yap's outer islands are descendants of Polynesian settlers, and as such have significant ethnic dissimilarities from the people of Yap Proper. Their culture and languages (Ulithian and Woleaian) are closely related to those of the neighboring islands of Chuuk
.
Yap State has five official languages: English
, Ulithian
, Woleaian, Satawal
ese, and Yapese
.
Several times a year, all women are required to go topless for the day. On the outer islands of Yap, Western clothing is banned and men and women are required to go shirtless at all times.
Until the arrival of the German colonizers, the caste ranking system was fluid and the ranks of villages and families changed in response to inter-village intrigues and confrontations. In the late 19th century, however, the German colonial administration "pacified" Yap and enforced a prohibition against violent conflict. The caste ranking of each village in modern Yap thus remains the same as it was when the system was frozen in place by the Germans. The result of the freeze left Yap with three highest ranks of the villages of Teb, Gachpar, and Ngolog. The village of Teb from the municipality of Tomil remains as the highest of the three.
supervision. US commercial rights on the island were secured by a special US-Japanese treaty to that effect, concluded on February 11, 1922.
In World War II
, Japan
ese-held Yap was one of the islands bypassed in the U.S. "island-hopping" strategy, although it was regularly bombed by U.S. ships and aircraft, and Yap-based Japanese bombers did some damage in return. The Japanese garrison
comprised 4,423 IJA
men under the command of Colonel Daihachi Itoh and 1,494 IJN
men.
At the end of World War II, Yap was occupied by the U.S. military victors. The U.S. held it and the rest of the Caroline Islands as a trusteeship under a United Nations mandate (the "Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
") until 1986. In that year, Yap, Truk
, Pohnpei
, and Kosrae
formed the independent nation of the Federated States of Micronesia. Under a Compact of Free Association
with the United States, Micronesian citizens and goods are allowed entry into the U.S. with few restrictions.
American Peace Corps
Volunteers and US-based non profit organizations, including Habele
, have an ongoing presence on both Yap Proper and its Outer Islands, aimed at reducing educational disparities and inequalities in access to effective classroom instruction.
receives service from Continental Micronesia
, a subsidiary of Continental Airlines
.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
of the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...
. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four continental islands (hence the alternative name of the Yap Islands). The four are very close together and joined within a common coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
and entirely formed from an uplift of the Philippine Sea Plate. The land is mostly rolling hills densely covered with vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
. Mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
swamps line much of the shore. An outer barrier reef
Barrier reef
Barrier reef may refer to:*a kind of coral reef*the Great Barrier Reef in Australia*the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System*the Belize Barrier Reef*the New Caledonia Barrier Reef*Barrier Reef , an Australian television series...
surrounds the islands, enclosing a lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
between the fringing barrier reef.
Colonia
Colonia, Yap
Colonia is the capital of the State of Yap, one of the Federated States of Micronesia. It administers both Yap proper and some 130 atolls reaching to the east and south for some 800 km . The 2010 population was 107,154 in both Colonia and ten other municipalities...
is the capital of the State of Yap. It administers both Yap proper and fourteen atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
s reaching to the east and south for some 800 km (497.1 mi), namely Eauripik
Eauripik
Eauripik Island is a coral atoll of three islands in the western Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia....
, Elato
Elato
Elato is a coral atoll of three islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Sorol is located approximately west of Lamotrek....
, Fais
Fais Island
Fais Island is a raised coral island in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia...
, Faraulep
Faraulep
Faraulep Atoll is a coral atoll of three islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia....
, Gaferut
Gaferut
Gaferut Atoll is an outlying atoll in the State of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. The northernmost of the eastern group of islands of Yap, it is located 100 kilometers northeast of Faraulep and 790 kilometers east of Yap island....
, Ifalik
Ifalik
Ifalik is a coral atoll of four islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Ifalik is located approximately east of Woleai and southeast of the island of Yap. The population of Ifalik was 561...
, Lamotrek
Lamotrek
Lamotrek is a coral atoll of three islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Sorol is located approximately east of Elato....
, Ngulu
Ngulu Atoll
Ngulu Atoll is a coral atoll of three islands in the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia....
, Olimarao, Piagailoe (West Fayu), Pikelot
Pikelot
Pikelot Island is one of the outer islands of the State of Yap, part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a low coral islet, with a wet, tropical climate.-Flora and fauna:...
, Sorol
Sorol
Sorol is a coral atoll of nine islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Sorol is located approximately south of Ulithi and southeast of the island of Yap. The population of Sorol was 215 in...
, Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
, and Woleai
Woleai
Woleai is a coral atoll of twenty-two islands in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia and is located approximately west-northwest of Ifalik and northeast of Eauripik...
Atolls, as well as the island of Satawal
Satawal
Satawal is a solitary coral atoll of one island located at in the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia...
(municipalities in bold).
2000 population was 11,241 in both Colonia and ten other municipalities. The state has a total land area of 102 km² (39.4 sq mi).
Stone money
Rai stones
Rai, or stone money, are large, circular stone disks carved out of limestone formed from aragonite and calcite crystals, Rai stones were mined in Palau and transported for use to the island of Yap, Micronesia...
, known as Rai: large doughnut
Doughnut
A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets...
-shaped, carved disks of (usually) calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
, up to 4 m (12 ft) in diameter (most are much smaller). The smallest can be as little as 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) in diameter. There are five major types of moneys: Mmbul, Gaw, Fe' or Rai, Yar, and Reng, this last being only 0.3 m (1 ft) in diameter. Many of them were brought from other islands, as far as New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, but most came in ancient times from Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
. Their value is based on both the stone's size and its history. Historically the Yapese valued the disks because the material looks like quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
, and these were the shiniest objects around. Eventually the stones became legal tender and were even mandatory in some payments.
The stones' value was kept high due to the difficulty and hazards involved in obtaining them. To quarry the stones, Yapese adventurers had to sail to distant islands and deal with local inhabitants who were sometimes hostile. Once quarried, the disks had to be transported back to Yap on rafts towed behind wind-powered canoes. The scarcity of the disks, and the effort and peril required to get them, made them valuable to the Yapese. However, in 1874, an enterprising Irishman named David O'Keefe
David O'Keefe
David Dean O'Keefe was an Irishman who immigrated to Savannah, Georgia, USA before becoming a historical figure to the island of Yap....
hit upon the idea of employing the Yapese to import more "money" in the form of shiploads of large stones, also from Palau. O'Keefe then traded these stones with the Yapese for other commodities such as sea cucumbers and copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
. Although some of the O'Keefe stones are larger than the canoe-transported stones, they are less valuable than the earlier stones due to the comparative ease in which they were obtained. Approximately 6,800 of them are scattered around the island.
As no more disks are being produced or imported, this money supply
Money supply
In economics, the money supply or money stock, is the total amount of money available in an economy at a specific time. There are several ways to define "money," but standard measures usually include currency in circulation and demand deposits .Money supply data are recorded and published, usually...
is fixed. The islanders know who owns which piece but do not necessarily move them when ownership changes. Their size and weight (the largest ones require 20 adult men to carry) make them very difficult to move around. Although today the United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
is the currency used for everyday transactions in Yap, the stone disks are still used for more traditional or ceremonial exchange. The stone disks may change ownership during marriages, transfers of land title, or as compensation for damages suffered by an aggrieved party.
Language and ethnicity
Yap Proper (known as Wa'ab or Waqab) was initially settled by ancient migrants from the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Archipelago, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The Yapese languageYapese language
Yapese is a language spoken by the people on the island of Yap .It belongs to the Austronesian languages, more specifically to the Oceanic languages...
is related to the Malay languages of Southeast Asia, though with strong New Guinean influences. In contrast, the people of Yap's outer islands are descendants of Polynesian settlers, and as such have significant ethnic dissimilarities from the people of Yap Proper. Their culture and languages (Ulithian and Woleaian) are closely related to those of the neighboring islands of Chuuk
Chuuk
Chuuk — formerly Truk, Ruk, Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus — is an island group in the south western part of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia , along with Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Chuuk is the most populous of the FSM's...
.
Yap State has five official languages: English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Ulithian
Ulithian language
Ulithian is the name of the language spoken on Ulithi atoll and neighboring islands. Ulithian is one of the 6 official languages of the Federated States of Micronesia. There are some 3,000 speakers, although only 700 of these live on Ulithi atoll....
, Woleaian, Satawal
Satawal
Satawal is a solitary coral atoll of one island located at in the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia...
ese, and Yapese
Yapese language
Yapese is a language spoken by the people on the island of Yap .It belongs to the Austronesian languages, more specifically to the Oceanic languages...
.
Navigation (sailing)
The Yapese and outer island Yapese were some of the most renowned navigators in the Pacific. Yapese sailors travelled phenomenal distances in outrigger canoes, without the aid of a compass, navigating by the stars and the patterns of ocean waves. During pre-colonial times, the people of Yap Proper established an island empire and dominion over what are now the outer islands of Yap State. Beginning in the 19th century, Yap was colonized by the Spanish, Germans, and Japanese in succession.Social structure
Yapese society is based on a highly complex caste system involving at least seven tiers of rank. Historically, the caste rank of an entire village could rise or fall in comparison to other villages depending on how it fared in inter-village conflicts. Winning villages would rise in rank as a part of a peace settlement, while losing villages would have to accept a decline in comparative rank. In many cases lower ranked villages were required to pay tribute to higher ranked villages. Further, dietary taboos might be imposed on lower ranking villages, i.e., they might be prohibited from harvesting and eating the more desirable fish and animals of the sea. Further, within each village each family had its own rank comparative to the others.Several times a year, all women are required to go topless for the day. On the outer islands of Yap, Western clothing is banned and men and women are required to go shirtless at all times.
Until the arrival of the German colonizers, the caste ranking system was fluid and the ranks of villages and families changed in response to inter-village intrigues and confrontations. In the late 19th century, however, the German colonial administration "pacified" Yap and enforced a prohibition against violent conflict. The caste ranking of each village in modern Yap thus remains the same as it was when the system was frozen in place by the Germans. The result of the freeze left Yap with three highest ranks of the villages of Teb, Gachpar, and Ngolog. The village of Teb from the municipality of Tomil remains as the highest of the three.
Modern history
Yap was a major German naval communications center before the First World War and an extremely important international hub for cable telegraphy. It was occupied by Japanese troops in September, 1914, and passed to the Japanese Empire under the Versailles Treaty in 1919 as a mandated territory under League of NationsLeague of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
supervision. US commercial rights on the island were secured by a special US-Japanese treaty to that effect, concluded on February 11, 1922.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
ese-held Yap was one of the islands bypassed in the U.S. "island-hopping" strategy, although it was regularly bombed by U.S. ships and aircraft, and Yap-based Japanese bombers did some damage in return. The Japanese garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
comprised 4,423 IJA
IJA
IJA can refer to:* Imperial Japanese Army* International Jugglers' Association* International Jousting Association* Instituto Justo Arosemena* The Internet Journal of Anesthesiology* International Judges Association* Empress Ija...
men under the command of Colonel Daihachi Itoh and 1,494 IJN
IJN
The abbreviation IJN may refer to:* International Justice Network or IJNetwork, a Human Rights Organization* Imperial Japanese Navy, the navy of Japan from 1868 until it was dissolved in 1947* Institut Jean Nicod, a French interdisciplinary research center...
men.
At the end of World War II, Yap was occupied by the U.S. military victors. The U.S. held it and the rest of the Caroline Islands as a trusteeship under a United Nations mandate (the "Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1986.-History:...
") until 1986. In that year, Yap, Truk
Chuuk
Chuuk — formerly Truk, Ruk, Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus — is an island group in the south western part of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia , along with Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Chuuk is the most populous of the FSM's...
, Pohnpei
Pohnpei
Not to be confused with Pompeii, the ancient city destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79.Pohnpei "upon a stone altar " is the name of one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia , situated among the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group...
, and Kosrae
Kosrae
Kosrae , formerly known as Kusaie, is an island in Micronesia. The State of Kosrae is one of four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, and includes, besides the island of Kosrae, about a dozen satellite islands and islets, the most significant of which is Lelu Island.-Geography:With a...
formed the independent nation of the Federated States of Micronesia. Under a Compact of Free Association
Compact of Free Association
The Compact of Free Association defines the relationship that three sovereign states—the Federated States of Micronesia , the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau—have entered into as associated states with the United States.Now sovereign nations, the three freely associated...
with the United States, Micronesian citizens and goods are allowed entry into the U.S. with few restrictions.
American Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
Volunteers and US-based non profit organizations, including Habele
Habele
The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a small South Carolina–based charitable organization serving the low-lying atolls of Yap State and Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia...
, have an ongoing presence on both Yap Proper and its Outer Islands, aimed at reducing educational disparities and inequalities in access to effective classroom instruction.
Transportation
Yap International AirportYap International Airport
Yap International Airport is an airport located in Yap, the main island of the State of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia.- External links :**AirNav.com: FAA information for...
receives service from Continental Micronesia
Continental Micronesia
Continental Micronesia, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of operations at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport on Guam, a U.S. territory in...
, a subsidiary of Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
.
Yap Island
- RumungRumungRumung is a village and municipality in the state of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. -Reference:*, retrieved December 8, 2010...
- Maap
- GagilGagilGagil is a municipality in the state of Yap. It includes the village of Gachapar which was once the capital of the historic Yap Islands Empire that lasted from 10th to the 15th century AD.-Reference:*, retrieved December 8, 2010...
- TomilTomilTomil is a municipality on the island of Yap, in the Federated States of Micronesia. It consists of twelve distinctive villages: Meerur, Teb, Aff, Bugol, Doomchuy, Deechmur, Dilag , Maa', Thol, Madl'ay, Gargey, and Daaboch...
- FanifFanifFanif is a village and municipality in the state of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. -Reference:*, retrieved December 8, 2010...
- WeloyWeloyWeloy is a village and municipality in the state of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. -Reference:*, retrieved December 8, 2010...
- Dalipebinaw
- RullRullRull is a municipality in the southern part of the island Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. It has a traditional dancing ground. Rull has a population of 1,847. -External links:***...
- KanifayKanifayKanifay is a village and municipality in the state of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.-Reference:*, retrieved December 8, 2010...
- Gilman
Outer Islands
- UlithiUlithiUlithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
- Ngulu
- FaisFais IslandFais Island is a raised coral island in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia...
- WoleaiWoleaiWoleai is a coral atoll of twenty-two islands in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia and is located approximately west-northwest of Ifalik and northeast of Eauripik...
- EauripikEauripikEauripik Island is a coral atoll of three islands in the western Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia....
- FaraulepFaraulepFaraulep Atoll is a coral atoll of three islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia....
- IfalikIfalikIfalik is a coral atoll of four islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Ifalik is located approximately east of Woleai and southeast of the island of Yap. The population of Ifalik was 561...
- ElatoElatoElato is a coral atoll of three islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Sorol is located approximately west of Lamotrek....
- LamotrekLamotrekLamotrek is a coral atoll of three islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Sorol is located approximately east of Elato....
- PikelotPikelotPikelot Island is one of the outer islands of the State of Yap, part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a low coral islet, with a wet, tropical climate.-Flora and fauna:...
- SatawalSatawalSatawal is a solitary coral atoll of one island located at in the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia...
- SorolSorolSorol is a coral atoll of nine islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Sorol is located approximately south of Ulithi and southeast of the island of Yap. The population of Sorol was 215 in...
Miscellaneous
- Yap is also notable for giant manta rayManta rayThe manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
s, which often congregate in the waters around the island, and have made it a top scuba divingScuba divingScuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
destination. - Yap and other islands of Yap State were fictionalized in a sensitively humorous treatment in the novel Island of the Sequined Love NunIsland of the Sequined Love NunIsland of the Sequined Love Nun is the fourth novel by absurdist author Christopher Moore, published in 1997. It is based partly on the author's personal experiences in Micronesia.-Plot:...
by Christopher Moore. - Yap was also the location of a LORAN-C transmitter.
- The CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
series, "Survivor: MicronesiaSurvivor: MicronesiaSurvivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites is the sixteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, being the show's third to include contestants from past seasons, after the all-returning contestant pool from Survivor: All-Stars, and Survivor: Guatemala in which...
", featured winners of the reward challenge being sent to Yap (Season 16, Episode 10). - Due to Yap having a former U.S. military presence, it was briefly featured in Nevil ShuteNevil ShuteNevil Shute Norway was a popular British-Australian novelist and a successful aeronautical engineer. He used his full name in his engineering career, and 'Nevil Shute' as his pen name, in order to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.-...
's novel On the BeachOn the BeachOn the Beach is a post-apocalyptic, end-of-the-world novel written by British-Australian author Nevil Shute after he emigrated to Australia. It was published in 1957....
as a gathering place for surviving U.S. Naval forces. - Yap and its stone money are referenced in Pinky and the BrainPinky and the BrainPinky and the Brain is an American animated television series.The characters Pinky and the Brain first appeared in 1993 as a recurring segment on the show Animaniacs...
episodes 5, "Brainania", which involves an island in the South Pacific. - An important western reference on Yap is by Furness, W. H. (1910). The island of stone money: Uap of the Carolines. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. It is also discussed in December 10, 2010 Planet MoneyPlanet MoneyPlanet Money is an American podcast and blog produced by NPR. The podcast launched on September 6, 2008 to cover the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 in the wake of the Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was created after the success of "The Giant Pool of Money", an episode of...
podcast.
See also
- HabeleHabeleThe Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a small South Carolina–based charitable organization serving the low-lying atolls of Yap State and Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia...
, a South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
based charitable organizationCharitable organizationA charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
providing private economic educational assistance in Yap.
External links
- The Official Government Website for the Island of Yap
- Yap Visitors Bureau
- Missing Air Crew Project about WWII and Yap Island
- News on Yap
- Photographs of stone money
- Federated States of Micronesia - Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae
- BBC
- Statistics on buildings, population; Source: Statistics Section, Office of Planning and Budget, Yap State
- HABELE Outer Island Education Fund
- United States of America and Japan - Treaty concerning the Yap Island and the other islands under mandate, situated in the Pacific North of the Equator and exchange of Notes relating thereto. Washington, February 11, 1922