Yap

Yap, atoll state of the Federated States of Micronesia, part of the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Yap comprises four main islands within a lagoon formed by an outer band of islets, totalling about 101 sq km (39 sq mi) in land area. The atoll, largely volcanic in origin, is mountainous and forested. Agriculture and fishing are the chief economic activities, and copra is the chief export. The traditional form of currency consisted of large stone discs with holes in the centre, but United States currency is now commonly used. There are many relics of an early civilization on the atoll. The main settlement is Colonia (population, 2003 estimate, 6,300).

Like other islands inhabited by Polynesians, it is thought that Yap was settled by the 14th century. The first Europeans to sight Yap were the Spanish, in 1791. Yap was a possession of Spain until 1899, when it was sold to Germany. The atoll was occupied by Japan in 1914, upon the outbreak of World War I, and in 1919 it was mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. Yap was utilized by Japan as a naval and air base during World War II. In 1947 Yap, as a part of the Caroline Islands, was placed under the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and assigned to the United States. In 1979 it became part of the newly formed Federated States of Micronesia. Population 10,886 (1991).