Enewetak Atoll

Enewetak is a low coral atoll in the western Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its islands encircle a lagoon, and ocean routes connect it with other atolls. Marshallese navigators travelled between islands using knowledge of winds, currents and familiar sea marks.

The Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Saavedra reached an atoll in the northern Marshalls in 1529; it is commonly identified as Enewetak, though the identification is not certain. In 1794 the British sloop Walpole, commanded by Thomas Butler, encountered Enewetak. These visits were episodes in a much longer history of island settlement and navigation.