Nauru is one of the many little, inhabitated atolls in Micronesia, in the Pacific. Nauru is the smallest self-governing republic in the world and has its own government with a president. The government is seated in Yaren. Nauru has no official capitol. Nauru lies 42 kilometer south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba which is part of Kiribati. Nauru has a total land area of 21,3 square kilometers. It's a small oval-shaped island, surrounded by a coral reef which is exposed at low...
more »Nauru is one of the many little, inhabitated atolls in Micronesia, in the Pacific. Nauru is the smallest self-governing republic in the world and has its own government with a president. The government is seated in Yaren. Nauru has no official capitol. Nauru lies 42 kilometer south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba which is part of Kiribati. Nauru has a total land area of 21,3 square kilometers. It's a small oval-shaped island, surrounded by a coral reef which is exposed at low tide. Landwards the reef passes into a sandy beach after which the soil gradual rises, and passes into a fertile strip of land, 100 to 250 meters wide. Here the Nauruans live. Inside this strip is a central plateau.The highest point of the plateau is 60 meters above sealevel. This plateau was rich of phosphate and covers four/ fifth part of the island. There is a population of 10000 inhabitants in Nauru. Nauru has no future in store. Nauru is robbed from it's treasures: the phosphate sources. The sources were gifted by thousands birds which established over a milion years at Nauru. The sources have once made the island very rich. The population of Nauru had the highest income per inhabitant of the whole Pacific. That makes Nauru one of the most prosperous countries in the world. Since 1907 there is phosphate mining. In 1994 680.000 tons of phosphate has been exported! But at the end of the 20th century the mines were exhausted. The source has grown millions of years. It growed 63 meters above sealevel together with the coral. Now that the people have digged the phosphate out of the coral, everywhere appear bizarre pinnacles of coral poking up from vast pits. Now that the phosphate is running out, the Nauruan are facing a dreary future. Nauru is a neglected Island and has to face a lot of changes on the island. Many plants, trees and flowers are gone. A little part of the island stille is fertile. Also many animals have become rare. Many birds are gone, for example the frigate.
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