Line Islands

Line Islands

Native name: Teraina Islands
Location within Kiribati Location within Oceania Location within Pacific Ocean
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	1.7°N 157.2°W / 1.7; -157.2
Total islands	11
Area	503.28 km2 (194.32 sq mi)
Kiribati
Administrative division	None
Largest island settlement	Kiritimati (pop. 7,369 (2020))
United States
Territories	Incorporated Palmyra Atoll Unincorporated Jarvis Island Kingman Reef

The Line Islands, also known as the Teraina Islands or the Equatorial Islands (Gilbertese: Aono Raina), are a chain of 11 atolls (with partly or fully enclosed lagoons, except Vostok and Jarvis) and coral islands (with a surrounding reef) in the central Pacific Ocean, in the Polynesia sub-region of Oceania south of the Hawaiian Islands. Eight of the atolls are parts of Kiribati. The remaining three—Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll—are territories of the United States grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands.

The Line Islands, all of which were formed by volcanic activity, are one of the longest island chains in the world, stretching 2,350 km (1,460 mi) from northwest to southeast. One of them, Starbuck Island, is near the geographic centre of the Pacific Ocean (4°58′S 158°45′W). Another, Kiritimati, has the largest land area of any atoll in the world. Only Kiritimati, Tabuaeran, and Teraina have a permanent population. The islands had no permanent inhabitants until European colonisation and the current inhabitants descend from the Micronesian Gilbertese people despite the islands' location in the Polynesian Triangle. Besides the 11 confirmed atolls and islands, Filippo Reef is shown on some maps, but its existence is doubted.

The International Date Line passes through the Line Islands. The ones that are parts of Kiribati are in the world's farthest forward time zone, UTC+14:00. The time of day in these atolls is 24 hours ahead of the state of Hawaii in the United States, which uses UTC−10:00, and 26 hours ahead of some other islands in Oceania, such as Baker Island, which uses UTC−12:00.