Phoenix Islands

The Phoenix Islands is an island group in Kiribati.

The main island of the chain is Kanton Island (Abariringa), home to a very small number of people. Although Kanton Island has an airstrip and a wharf, such is its isolation that it is seldom visited apart from the occasional sailboat and the government supply ship which visits a number of times a year.

Other islands in the area include Orona, Enderbury, Nikumaroro, Birnie, Manra, McKean and Rawaki. These atolls are the tops of the seamounts which are a feature of the marine protected area.

• Phoenix Islands Protected Area. The world's largest Marine Protected Area. This isolated location has a vast array of undisturbed and pristine ecosystems. The coral reefs and bird populations are virtually untouched by man. The Phoenix Islands were awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2010. The area covers 410,500 sq km of the Central Pacific. (updated Dec 2020)