Western Caroline Islands - Eastern Caroline Islands

The division between the eastern Caroline Islands and the western Caroline Islands represents a major geological division. The major islands and island groups of the western Caroline Islands are the tops of submerged mountain ranges that rise above the surface of the sea. The Palau group, Yap, Fais, and Sorol, at least, are elevated portions of great ridges that are wrinkles in the continental shelf and are similar in origin to the areas nearer Asia, such as Japan and the Ryukyus. All these islands are west of the sial or andesite line, which marks the edge of the continental shelf. They are recent elevation, and the process of elevation is still going on, as is proved by recently elevated marine terraces and by earthquakes. The islands of the eastern Caroline Islands stand on a great submarine shelf that is fairly stable, although there may be some subsidence in the western portion. Truk shows signs of subsidence whereas Ponape and Kusaie do not.

There are three main types of islands: the high volcanic islands, the low coral atolls, and raised atolls. Each of these types presents its own peculiar setting as a home for man. There are five volcanic islands or island groups: the Palaus, Yap, Truk, Ponape, and Kusaie.

The Palaus and Yap are composed of recent volcanic lavas and ancient metamorphic rock that testify to their continental nature. Truk, Ponape, and Kusaie are composed chiefly of basaltic lavas. Some of these volcanic islands have elevations of more than 2000 feet above sea level. The low coral atolls seldom rise to more than 6 or 8 feet above sea level. The partly raised atolls, such as Fais and Angaur, have elevations up to about 60 feet and usually contain phosphate deposits.

Caroline Islands Climate - Temperatures

Although there are slight climatic variations over this large area, the low latitude and oceanic location combine to produce uniform conditions at any one station during the entire year. Although the climate is oceanic in character, it is dominated by the northeast trades except in the area west of about 145° east longitude, where the effect of the Asiatic monsoon is felt during the summer months. From November to April the prevailing winds over the whole area are from the northeast or east. In the northern summer, the southeast trades are dominant over the southern Carolines and occasionally reach as far northward as the Marianas.

Typhoons, or tropical cyclones, do considerable damage in the Carolines. They can occur in any month, but they are most common from July through November, with the highest frequency in September. There is an average of 25 typhoons each year. Originating in the Carolines and Marianas, they may occur anywhere west of 160° east longitude and 5° north latitude. Although they are commonest between Yap and Guam, at rare intervals one strikes as far east as the Gilberts.

In general the rainfall is heaviest in a belt between 1° 30′ and 8° 30′ north latitude, which marks the zone where the northeast and southeast trades meet. The rainfall is usually over 120 inches in this belt. However, there is orographic influence on the high islands that results in heavier rainfall on the windward side. The 2000-foot mountains of Kusaie produce as much as 255 inches on their windward (west) side whereas on the leeward side the annual rainfall is only 177 inches. The low coral atolls do not produce this orographic effect and are much drier.

Temperatures are uniform throughout the area. The mean monthly temperatures are seldom less than 79° F or more than 83° F. The difference between the means of the summer and winter months is rarely more than 2°. The daily range usually amounts to about 9° or 10° F. Day temperatures vary from 83° to 89° F, and night temperatures from 74° to 77° F. The mean relative humidity is high throughout the year. The early morning relative humidity varies from 85 to 95 per cent; the early afternoon readings may vary from 70 to 80 per cent. There is little variation in the humidity from month to month.





Manta Ray, Yap Islands, Caroline Islands, Micronesia Photographic Print

Buy at AllPosters.com


SOILS
Great contrast exists between the soils of the high volcanic islands and those of the low coral islands. On the coral isles the soils consist of group-up coral and shells with an accumulation of humus near the surface. This is seldom very thick and is speedily lost under cultivation. These soils do not retain moisture well as the rainfall quickly soaks through the sand and is lost in the porous coral beneath.

There is greater variation on the volcanic islands. The parent material is more varied, and there is an accumulation of fairly fertile alluvium on the coastal plains and in the stream valleys. However, the frostless year with high rainfall is favorable to leaching and alluviation, with the result that tropical laterites or lateritic soils with little fertility are common.

Caroline Islands History Spanish, German & Japanese Periods

Sunset over Pacific Ocean, Yap Islands, Caroline Islands, Micronesia Photographic Print

Buy at AllPosters.com


In a series of voyages after Magellan's Pacific crossing, most of the islands of the Carolines were discovered. As little wealth was found, the islands were neglected and, as they were a hazard to navigation, were avoided as much as possible during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Spanish missionaries made a few unsuccessful attempts to convert some of the natives early in the eighteenth century.

New England whalers followed the sperm whale into the Marshalls and eastern Carolines in the 1840's and brought close outside contact to the natives of Kusaie, Ponape, and Truk. The traders and whalers, who came in increasing numbers, brought smallpox and other disastrous new elements to the entire area.

The missionaries were not far behind the sailors, and in 1852 the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions established bases on Ponape and Kusaie. Hawaiian missionaries followed soon after. From the original bases on Ponape and Kusaie, the missionaries branched out into the Marshalls and other sections of the Carolines.

THE SPANISH PERIOD

The 1870's saw increased German commercial activity in these islands as in other parts of the Pacific. Spain's jealousy was roused, and she attempted to claim sovereignty that brought her into conflict with both Germany and Great Britain. The matter was referred to the Pope for arbitration in 1885, and he ruled in favor of Spain.

The Spanish immediately occupied Yap and in 1887 established a settlement, Colonia de Santiago, on Ponape. The occupation of Ponape resulted in trouble with both natives and well-entrenched American missionaries. The trouble with the natives, which was expensive and also costly in lives, continued even after the missionaries were removed. In 1898, as a result of defeat in the Spanish American War, Spain ceded Guam to the United States and in the following year sold the rest of her Micronesian possessions to Germany.

THE GERMAN PERIOD

The Carolines, during the German period of occupation, were under the jurisdiction of the governor of German New Guinea. After 1911 they were divided into the western Caroline district, which was administered from Yap, and the eastern Caroline district, which was administered from Ponape.

Although there were never many German administrators or settlers in the area, this was a period of rapid economic and political change. Copra became the economic foundation of the islands although they were never self-supporting. The Germans reduced the power of the chiefs and made changes in the forms of land tenure. Roads were constructed with native labor, public buildings built, and some of the harbors improved. The Germans paid some attention to native health and sanitation, with the result that in some places the decline of the native population was checked. Schools were left largely ill the hands of the missionaries. The changes did meet some resistance from the natives, especially from the chiefs, who lost some of their prerogatives.

One of the outstanding accomplishments of this period was the laying of the Pacific cable in 1905. Yap was made the center for the lines connecting Japan, Asia, and the south. Control of Yap was later to be a source of international friction.

THE JAPANESE PERIOD

In 1914 the Japanese navy took over the German possessions in Micronesia and ruled the islands until 1922, when a civilian government was placed in charge. In 1919 Japan received the islands as a class C mandate from the League of Nations. The type C mandate was administered as an integral part of the mandatory state, and eventual independence of the territory was not contemplated. After Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations in 1935, the islands were retained, with the Japanese military playing an increasing part in their administration.

The Japanese followed a policy of economic development that was intended eventually to make the islands pay for themselves and supplement the Japanese economy by the production of tropical commodities that could not be produced in Japan, by the development of such minerals as were present, and by securing fish that play an important part in the Japanese diet. Although the islands did form an outlet for some of Japan's growing population, it was always recognized that the islands were too small to absorb more than a small part of the increase. However, by the outbreak of the Second World War, the number of the Japanese in the whole of the mandated territory exceeded that of the natives. After the war, the islands became trust territories of the United States, eventually gaining independence.