Kiritimati << kuh RIHS muhs or KRIHS muhs >> Atoll, also called Christmas Island, has one of the largest land masses of any coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It lies in the northern Line Islands and is part of the Republic of Kiribati. About 5,100 people live on Kiritimati Atoll. The people who live on the island speak a language called Gilbertese. Kiritimati is the Gilbertese spelling of the word Christmas.
Kiritimati Atoll lies about 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) south of Honolulu. The island has a coastline of 80 miles (130 kilometers), and covers about 140 square miles (360 square kilometers). Kiritimati Atoll is low, dry, and sandy. The British used the island as a nuclear test site from 1957 until late 1962. In 1962, the United States also conducted nuclear tests there.
On Christmas Day, 1777, the British explorer James Cook became the first European to reach the island. The island was annexed by the United Kingdom in 1888 and became part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1919. United States forces built an airfield on the atoll during World War II (1939-1945). In 1979, Kiritimati Atoll became part of the nation of Kiribati (see Kiribati).
