PALAU

officially Republic of Palau, Palauan Belu'u era Belau, Palau also spelled Pelew, country in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of some 340 coral and volcanic islands perched on the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. The Palau archipelago lies in the southwest corner of Micronesia, with the Philippines 550 miles (885 kilometres) to the west, New Guinea 400 miles to the south, and Guam 830 miles to the northeast. It reaches from latitude 255 to 812 N and from longitude 13105 to 13444 E. A huge barrier reef system, continuous on the west and broken on the east, encircles most of the archipelago's 188 square miles (488 square kilometres) of land. Its major populated islands are Babelthuap (Babeldaob), Koror, Malakal, Arakabesan, and Peleliu. The sparsely populated Kayangel Islands to the north of Babelthuap and the raised coral islands of Angaur, Sonsorol, Pulo Anna, and Tobi south of Peleliu lie outside the barrier reef system. Koror Island, rising to 2,061 feet (628 metres) just south of Babelthuap, is the provisional capital and largest population centre. Palau was a member of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands established in 1947 and administered by the United States. The U.S. government dissolved the trusteeship in 1986, but repeated measures to win the required support for a compact of free association between Palau and the United States were unsuccessful until 1993. The Republic of Palau officially became a sovereign state on Oct. 1, 1994. in full Republic of Palau, Palauan Beluu er a Belau, Palau also spelled Pelew independent republic in the western Pacific Ocean. It is composed of an island group known as the Palau Islands to the north and the four small, isolated coral islands of Sonsorol, Merir, Pulo Anna, and Tobi and the adjacent atoll of Helen Reef to the southwest. Encompassing about 340 islands, Palau forms the western end of the Caroline Islands chain. Palau has a northeast-southwest extent of about 400 miles (640 km). Its nearest neighbours include the Philippines (west), Yap Island in the Federated States of Micronesia (northeast), and Irian Jaya province of Indonesia (south). The town of Koror on Koror Island is the provisional capital. Area 188 square miles (487 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 17,200. For current history and for statistics on society and economy, see Britannica Book Of The Year. Additional reading Douglas Faulkner, This Living Reef (1974), is an illustrated survey of the marine environment. See also Douglas Osborne, The Archeology of the Palau Islands: An Intensive Survey (1966); and George J. Gumerman, David Snyder, and W. Bruce Masse, An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Palau Archipelago, Western Caroline Islands, Micronesia (1981). R.E. Johannes, Words of the Lagoon: Fishing and Marine Lore in the Palau District of Micronesia (1981); Roland W. Force and Maryanne Force, Just One House: A Description and Analysis of Kinship in the Palau Islands (1972); and H.G. Barnett, Being a Palauan (1959, reissued 1979), are anthropological accounts. Daniel J. Peacock, Lee Boo of Belau: A Prince in London (1987), is the story of the first Palauan to visit the West. Edward C. Barnard, Naked and a Prisoner: Captain Edward C. Barnard's Narrative of Shipwreck in Palau, 18321833, ed. by Kenneth R. Martin (1980), is a personal account of a stay in Palau.