TABUAERAN ATOLL

also called Fanning Atoll, coral formation of the Northern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Discovered in 1798 by an American, Edmund Fanning, the atoll is composed of several islets, with a total area of 13 square miles (35 square km), that surround a lagoon 32 miles (51 km) in circumference. It was annexed in 1888 by Britain as the site for a transpacific cable-relay station, which was in service until a new cable was installed in 1963. The island served as a district headquarters of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 until replaced in 1952 by Christmas (now called Kiritimati) Atoll. The island is owned by Fanning Island Plantations, Ltd., a copra-processing company. Pop. (1983 est.) 470.