Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The republic consists of approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Palau was initially settled around 1000 BC.
The economy of Palau consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the United States. The population enjoys a per capita income of more than twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-term prospects for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries.
Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island. It is Palau’s most populous state.
Montjuïc is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II.
The Rock Islands of Palau, also called Chelbacheb, are a collection of several hundred small limestone or coral uprises in the Southern Lagoon of Palau between Koror and Peleliu, now an incorporated part of Koror State. There are between 250 and 300 islands in the group according to different sources, with an aggregate area of 42 square kilometers (16 sq mi) and a maximum height of 207 meters (679 ft). The islands were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,800 kilometres northeast of New Guinea and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, 225 kilometres (140 mi) around, encloses a natural harbour 79 by 50 km, with an area of 2,130 km2 (820 sq mi). It has a land area of 93.07 square kilometres, with a population of 36,158 people and a maximal elevation of 443 metres (1,453 ft). Weno city on Weno Island functions as both the atoll's capital and the state capital, and is the largest city in the FSM with its 13,700 people.
Fukuryu were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units prepared to resist the invasion of Japan's Home islands by Allied forces. Six thousand men were planned to be trained and equipped with diving equipment for the role. They would use attack mines affixed to bamboo poles. Plans also included reinforced concrete stations to protect men from the explosions. Only twelve hundred men had been trained when Japan surrendered before the invasion of the Japanese mainland occurred.
Jellyfish Lake is a marine lake located on Eil Malk island in Palau. Eil Malk is a part of the Rock Islands, a group of small, rocky, mostly uninhabited islands in Palau's Southern Lagoon, between Koror and Peleliu. There are about 70 other marine lakes located throughout the Rock Islands. Millions of golden jellyfish migrate horizontally across the lake daily.
Pacific Abyss is a three-part series on British television's (BBC1), which first aired in Sunday 17 August 2008. It is hosted by Kate Humble, Mike Smart and Mike deGruy with filming beginning in April/May 2007.
John Chatterton is an American wreck diver. Together with Richie Kohler, he was one of the co-hosts for the History Channel’s Deep Sea Detectives, for 57 episodes of the series. He is also a consultant to the film and television industries and has worked with 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and CBS.
SS Hispania was a Swedish 1,323 GRT triple-expansion engine steamer built in Belgium in 1912. She sank in the Sound of Mull on 18 December 1954 after striking a rock.
Ulong is a major island and channel of western Palau. It is sometimes called Aulong and originally written Oroolong in English. Ulong is regarded by many as one of the best drift dives in the world.
The history of the Jews in Palau is a relatively recent development, beginning with the arrival of the Israeli-born couple Tova and Navot Bornovski, and their children, who moved to Palau in 1993 to operate the Fish 'n Fins diving center and the Barracuda Restaurant. The family expanded and added two children, who were the first recorded Jewish children born on Palau. Both children have native middle names.
Koror City is the largest city and the commercial center in Palau, home to about half of the country's population, located on Koror Island. During the interwar period it served as the capital of the South Seas Mandate, a group of islands that made up the League of Nations mandated territory held by the Empire of Japan. It was subsequently the capital of Palau until it was replaced by Ngerulmud in 2006.
Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this context all diving done for recreational purposes is included. Professional diving tends to be done where the job is, and with the exception of diver training and leading groups of recreational divers, does not generally occur at specific sites chosen for their easy access, pleasant conditions or interesting features.
Blue Corner is a section of Palau's barrier reef in the south-east of Koror, close to Ngerukewid and German Channel. Its triangular shape, with step walls on the Pacific Ocean sides, resembles a submerged peninsula. In the north part of the Blue Corner, there is a large underwater cavern called Blue Holes. Due to a high variety of corals and wildlife in the area, the Blue Corner is a popular recreational dive site. It is variously called "the most requested dive in Palau" and "one of the most action-packed scuba dive sites in the world."
Ro-47 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in January 1944, she served in World War II in operations related to the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. She was sunk in September 1944 during her second war patrol.
