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Carteret Islands
 Map of the atoll | |
  Carteret Islands  Carteret Islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Melanesia |
| Coordinates | 04°46′57″S 155°27′54″E / 4.78250°S 155.46500°E |
| Total islands | 7 |
| Area | 295 km2 (114 sq mi) |
| Length | 25.2 km (15.66 mi) |
| Width | 16.2 km (10.07 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1.6 m (5.2 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Autonomous Region |  Bougainville |
| District | North Bougainville |
| Local-level government | Atolls Rural |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 2,600 (2006) |
The Carteret Islands (also known as Carteret Atoll, Tulun or Kilinailau Islands/Atoll) are Papua New Guinea islands located 86 km (53 mi) north-east of Bougainville in the South Pacific. The atoll has a scattering of low-lying islands called Han, Jangain, Yesila, Yolasa and Piul, in a horseshoe shape stretching 30 km (19 mi) in north-south direction, with a total land area of 0.6 square kilometres (0.2 sq mi) and a maximum elevation of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11.1 in) above sea level.
The group is made up of islands collectively named after the British navigator Philip Carteret, who was the first European to discover them, arriving in the sloop HMS Swallow (1745) in 1767.[1] As of 2005[update], about one thousand people live on the islands. Han is the most significant island, with the others being small islets around the lagoon. The main settlement is at Weteili on Han. The island is near the edge of the large geologic formation called the Ontong Java Plateau.
- ^ Bates, Ian M. (2017). Champion of the Quarterdeck: Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower (1742–1814). Sage Old Books. pp. 58–59. ISBN 9780958702126.
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