Kiritimati, a famous Christmas Island is the largest coral atoll in the world. It is 2015 miles away from Tarawa, capital of the Republic of Kiribati. It comprises over 70% of the total land area of Kiribati. Kiritimati Christmas Island is named after Captain James Cook. He discovered this island in 1777 on the day of Christmas.
Presently, there are four villages on the island: London (the main village and port facility), Tabwakea, Banana (Banana Wells), and Poland. Many of the place names in the island date from Father Emmanuel Rougier, a French priest who leased the island from 1917 to 1939 and planted some 800,000 coconut trees to procure copra which is used to extract oil.
One of the major attractions of Christmas Island is its wild life sanctuary. This island is enriched with the extensive population of bird life. Tropic birds, frigate birds, shearwater, terns and noddys are some of the bird species which can easily engross their onlookers. Kiritimati Christmas Island is also famous for Christmas Island warbler birds found exclusively here.
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