Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll (also known as Pikinni Atoll) is an uninhabited 6.0-square-kilometer atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean at {{coor dm |11|30|N|165|25|E|}}. It is a member of the Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a 594.2-square-kilometer lagoon. As part of the Pacific Proving Grounds it was a site of more than 20 hydrogen and atomic bomb tests between 1946 to 1958. Despite popular usage, the atoll name is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.

Related Topics:
Atoll - Micronesia - Pacific Ocean - Marshall Islands - Pacific Proving Grounds - Hydrogen - Atomic bomb - Tests - 1946 - 1958

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Preceding the nuclear tests, the indigenous population was relocated to Rongerik Atoll. The tests began in July 1946.

Related Topics:
Rongerik Atoll - July - 1946

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For examination of the fallout, several rockets of the types Loki and Asp were launched at {{coor dm |11|35|N|165|20|E|}}.

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In the late 1960s and early 1970s, some of the original islanders returned from Kili Island but were removed because of the high radioactivity.

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Bikini Atoll is also the source of the name of the Bikini swimsuit.

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