ULITHI

also called Urushi, or Mackenzie Island, coral atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia, in the western Pacific Ocean. Its islets have a total land area of 1.75 square miles (4.5 square km). Ulithi was probably sighted by the Portuguese in 1526, but it remained undisturbed until 1791, when it was visited by a British naval vessel. The site of a Japanese seaplane base during World War II, Ulithi was captured in 1944 by U.S. forces and served as a large American naval base for the duration of the war. The atoll's inhabitants, who are generally lighter skinned than the Micronesians, are probably partly Polynesian and speak a distinctive dialect. Pop. (1980) 710.