Kiritimati: Driving Around the Island
Kiritimati is the world’s largest atoll with the total area of 388 sq km (150 sq mi). It’s massive! Exploring this by car takes a full day. The atoll has a distinctive crescent shape, with a narrow strip of land surrounding a large central lagoon. Despite its vast size, most of the land on Kiritimati is low-lying and composed of coral sand and limestone. The highest point on the island is only about 10 meters above sea level. The lagoon within the atoll is expansive, covering an area of approximately 320 sq km (182 sq mi). Despite tropical location, the climate is very dry, and the majority of the island is exposed coral shelf and sand and shrub vegetation with many coconut palms in the center and pandanus trees. Spectacular views of the coastline are everywhere, the more or less ok road goes down to the southern tip, from there it’s a vague track through the wilderness (a true adventure – if you get lost here, there is no reception and you may wait for days). There are also several mini lagoons in the southern part – many are essentially evaporation basins with weird salt formations and red salt-loving bacteria. It’s almost like you are on some other planet.
