Tabuaeran is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the nation of Kiribati. Its land encompasses only 13 square miles holding a sparse population. As a low-lying atoll (max elevation only 10 ft above high tide), it has been vulnerable to sea-level rise from global warming and the detrimental effects of salt water erosion. American Captain Fanning was the first Westerner on the island at the end of 1900s, then not permanently inhabited. Evidence of early Polynesian culture from Marquesas has been found on the island. With the importation of coconut trees, copra has been an important export for Fanning Island and throughout the Pacific Islands.
Tabuaeran is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the nation of Kiribati. Its land encompasses only 13 square miles holding a sparse population. As a low-lying atoll (max elevation only 10 ft above high tide), it has been vulnerable to sea-level rise from global warming and the detrimental effects of salt water erosion. American Captain Fanning was the first Westerner on the island at the end of 1900s, then not permanently inhabited. Evidence of early Polynesian culture from Marquesas has been found on the island. With the importation of coconut trees, copra has been an important export for Fanning Island and throughout the Pacific Islands.
