Gilbert Islands

The Gilbert Islands (Gilbertese: Tungaru; formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill Islands) are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii. They form the main part of the Kiribati ("Kiribati" is the Kiribatese rendition of "Gilberts").

The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands are arranged in an approximate north-to-south line. As the crow flies it is approximately 420 nautical miles (780 km) between the northernmost island, Makin, and the southernmost, Arorae. In a geographical sense, the equator serves as the dividing line between the northern Gilbert Islands and the southern Gilbert Islands. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) considers the Gilberts wholly within the South Pacific Ocean, however.

Another method of grouping the Gilbert Islands is by former administrative districts, the Northern, Central, and Southern Gilberts (Tarawa once was a separate district as well).

A group of the southern Gilberts is called the Kingsmill Group, a name that in the 19th century applied to all of the Gilberts.

The Gilberts form a continuous chain of seamounts with the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands to the north.

In official north-south order (grouped by former administrative districts), the islands and atolls are:

Source for land areas: Kiribati 2005 Census Report

The Northern Gilberts (mweang) geographically and traditionally encompass Butaritari, Makin, Marakei, Abaiang (literally northland) and Tarawa. They have unique tonal accents with differences particularly noted amongst Butaritari and Makin inhabitants. Traditionally, Butaritari and Makin were ruled by a chief who lived on Butaritari Island. This chief had all the powers and authority to make and impose decisions on the islanders, a system very different from the Southern Gilbert Islands where power was wielded collectively by the unimwane or old men of the island.

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