Ailuk
- ISS006-E-5977
- 08 December 2002
- 01:33 UTC
Ailuk, located 72 km north from Wotje Atoll, in the Ratak Chain of atolls, is a small atoll formation consisting of around 57 islets, the majority of which are all located on the eastern side of the atoll. They have a combined land area of 5.4 km² — with the major islets being: Ajelep, Aliej, Ailuk (at far left), Alkilwe (the isolated islet at the top in this image), Barorkan, Biken, Enejabrok, Enejelar, Kapen (far right) and Marib. The western and southern sides of the atoll consist of an nearly continuous reef rim that is largely submerged. The reef encloses a lagoon with a surface area of 177 km².
On the west side of the atoll (top in image) are found the three main passes that lead in to the lagoon: Erappu Channel, Marok Channel and Eneneman Channel.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center