The name Micronesia is often used in a broad geographical sense, meaning all the small islands of the central and northwestern Pacific Ocean. Here it refers specifically to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). There are separate pages for lighthouses in other island countries of the Micronesian region, including Palau, Guam, the Northern Marianas, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands. The FSM is remarkable in having had four colonial administrations. The islands (then called the Caroline Islands) were controlled by Spain until the Spanish-American War of 1898. Following that war Spain transferred the islands to Germany. Japan seized the islands from Germany in 1915, during World War I, and moved quickly to make several of them major naval bases. Japan also built three lighthouses in the territory. The U.S. took the islands from Japan in very hard fighting during World War II. After the war the U.S. administered the islands as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The Federation, linking the states of Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap, was formed in 1979 and became independent in 1986. The new country signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Under the Compact the United States provides financial assistance, defends the FSM's territorial integrity, and provides uninhibited travel for FSM citizens to the U.S. In return, the FSM provides the United States with unlimited and exclusive access to its land and waterways for strategic purposes. The capital of the Federation is Palikir, Pohnpei. The total population is a little over 100,000. Navigational aids in the FSM are the responsibility of the Marine Division within the Department of Transportation, Communications, and Infrastructure. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume M of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 111.
|
|
|
![]() Poluwat Light, Poluwat, Chuuk State, March 2004 ex-Pbase photo copyright billyo; permission requested |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Guam | East: Marshall Islands | South: Papua New Guinea | West: Palau
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted August 28, 2005. Checked and revised September 10, 2024. Lighthouses: 6. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.