Aono Raina High Sea

The Line Islands rise as low interruptions in a vast central Pacific horizon. The chain contains eleven atolls and reef-fringed coral islands south of Hawaii and extends approximately 2,350 kilometres from northwest to southeast. Most atolls hold lagoons; Vostok and Jarvis are exceptions. Volcanic origins underlie the present coral surfaces, and Kiritimati ranks as the world's largest atoll by land area.

Captain Cook landed on Kiritimati in 1777, while Captain Fanning reached Teraina and Tabuaeran in 1798. The visitors often missed signs of older settlement, at that time visible in marae platforms and village complexes dating back to the fourteenth century.

Reef passages and lagoon waterways offer limited shelter around the inhabited islands; elsewhere, seabirds and open swells accompany navigation across long blue distances. Copra, pet fish, and seaweed have been listed among the principal exports, connecting the tiny landmasses to distant markets. Whalers once relied on the islands for water, wood, and provisions, linking these isolated shores to wider nineteenth-century maritime traffic.