Kiritimati

Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island, is a coral atoll in the northern Line Islands of the Pacific, part of the Republic of Kiribati, lying about 232 kilometers north of the equator. It holds over 70 percent of Kiribati's total land area, making it the world's largest atoll by land area enclosing a lagoon, and its main settlements include Tabwakea, London, Banana and Poland. Named for Captain James Cook's visit on December 24, 1777, and later the site of British and American nuclear weapons tests between 1957 and 1962, Kiritimati recorded 7,369 residents at the 2020 census, the fastest population growth of any part of Kiribati.