UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands has 1 site on the UNESCO World Heritage List (1 cultural), the first inscribed in 2010 (Bikini Atoll). The map below plots it alongside the rest of the List, and each site is written up in full further down the page.
- World Heritage Sites
- 1
- Cultural
- 1
- Natural and Mixed
- 0
- First Inscribed
- 2010
Map of World Heritage Sites in Marshall Islands
CulturalNaturalMixedIn DangerLarge dots are in Marshall Islands. Click a dot to read about the site.
Bikini Atoll
Marshall Islands · 11.6000° N, 165.4000° E · 735 km²
Bikini Atoll ( BIK-in-ee or bih-KEE-nee; Marshallese: Pikinni [pʲiɡinnʲi], lit. 'Coconut place'), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a 229.4-square-mile (594.1 km2) central lagoon. The atoll is at the northern end of the Ralik Chain, approximately 530 miles (850 km) northwest of the capital Majuro.
After the Second World War, the atoll was chosen by the United States as a nuclear weapon testing site. The 167 people who lived on Bikini were forcefully relocated by the U.S. military in preparation for testing. In 1946, the Bikini population moved to Rongerik, a small island east of Bikini Atoll, but it did not have adequate resources to support them. The islanders began experiencing starvation by early 1948, and were moved to Kwajalein Atoll. The U.S. used Bikini Atoll for the fourth detonation of a nuclear bomb, and carried out 22–23 additional nuclear tests there until 1958, when it was discovered that the fallout from testing was much more dangerous than previously thought.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Bikini Atoll (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Bikini Atoll Is Listed
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
- (vi)
- A direct association with events, ideas or beliefs of universal significance.
More about Bikini Atoll
UNESCO's Description
In the wake of World War II, in a move closely related to the beginnings of the Cold War, the United States of America decided to resume nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean, on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall archipelago. After the displacement of the local inhabitants, 67 nuclear tests were carried out from 1946 to 1958, including the explosion of the first H-bomb (1952). Bikini Atoll has conserved direct tangible evidence that is highly significant in conveying the power of the nuclear tests, i.e. the sunken ships sent to the bottom of the lagoon by the tests in 1946 and the gigantic Bravo crater. Equivalent to 7,000 times the force of the Hiroshima bomb, the tests had major consequences on the geology and natural environment of Bikini Atoll and on the health of those who were exposed to radiation. Through its history, the atoll symbolises the dawn of the nuclear age, despite its paradoxical image of peace and of earthly paradise. This is the first site from the Marshall Islands to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
History
Humans have inhabited Bikini Atoll for about 3,600 years. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers archaeologist Charles F. Streck Jr., found bits of charcoal, fish bones, shells and other artifacts under 3 feet (0.91 meters) of sand. Carbon-dating placed the age of the artifacts at between 1960 and 1650 BC. Other discoveries on Bikini and Eneu island were carbon-dated to between 1000 BC and 1 BC, and others between AD 400 and 1400 though samples may not have been collected from secure stratigraphic contexts and older driftwood samples may have affected results. The archaeological community broadly rejects the earliest radiocarbon dates (circa 1200 BCE) reported by Charles Streck for Bikini Atoll due to significant methodological flaws.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Bikini Atoll (CC BY-SA 4.0).
World Heritage in Marshall Islands: Quick Answers
- How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Marshall Islands?
- Marshall Islands has 1 World Heritage Site: 1 cultural.
- What was the first World Heritage Site in Marshall Islands?
- Bikini Atoll, inscribed in 2010.
- Are any World Heritage Sites in Marshall Islands in danger?
- None of the World Heritage Sites in Marshall Islands is on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.