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South Tarawa

Capital of KiribatiSouth Tarawa is a long, narrow strip of islets on the southern side of the Tarawa lagoon, joined by causeways from Betio in the west to Tanaea in the north-east. It lies just north of the equator.

Why it's the capital

Tarawa was chosen in 1895 as the seat of colonial government for the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. The headquarters later moved to Ocean Island and, during the Japanese occupation, to Funafuti, but it returned to Tarawa in 1946 and stayed when Kiribati became independent in 1979.

Fun facts

  1. The Battle of Tarawa began on 20 November 1943 on the islet of Betio, which US Marines captured after 76 hours of intense fighting.
  2. The name Tarawa is an old form of 'Te Rawa', meaning 'The Passage', after the large ship channel into the lagoon.
  3. Most of South Tarawa is less than 3 m above sea level, and on average the land is only about 450 m wide.

Finding it on the globe

Look just north of the equator: Tarawa is south of Majuro and east-north-east of Nauru.

Easy to mix up

Some maps label the capital Tarawa or Bairiki; Bairiki is one of the islets of South Tarawa and holds the State House and government ministries.

Sources: Wikipedia: South Tarawa, Wikipedia: Tarawa