Kiritimati Kiritimati Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name "Kiritimati" is a respelling of the English word "Christmas" in the Kiribati language, in which the combination "ti" is pronounced "s", and the name is thus pronounced . The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the world, about ; its lagoon is roughly the same size. The atoll is about in perimeter, while the lagoon shoreline extends for over . Kiritimati comprises over 70% of the total land
Kiritimati seabird colony. Islets ("motu"s) in the lagoon include Motu Tabu () with its "Pisonia" forest and the shrub-covered Motu Upua (also called Motu Upou or Motu Upoa, ) at the northern side, and Ngaontetaake () at the eastern side. Joe's Hill (originally "La colline de Joe") near Artemia Corners on the southeastern peninsula is the highest point on the atoll, at about ASL. On the northwestern peninsula for example, the land raises only to some 7 m (20 ft), which is still considerable for an atoll. Despite its proximity to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), Kiritimati is located in an