Bikini
- ISS002-E-6651
- 20 May 2001
- 23:29 UTC
Bikini Atoll lies at the northern end of the Ralik Chain, located around 87 km northwest of Ailinginae and 850 km northwest of Majuro. In the above image Bikini Atoll is at the centre of the image, with Ailinginae and Maloelap at the top-left.
The atoll consists of a circumferential reef rim that is continuous except on the south side (top), where it breaks up in to smaller units separated by the wide passes of Enirik, Enyu and Rukoji. There are 36 islets spread around the reef — with Bikini, Eneu, Nam and Enidrik accounting for most the atoll's 6 km² of land. The deep central lagoon has a surface area of 594 km² and average depths of between 35 and 55 m.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center