Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific. The republic consists of approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia. It has a total area of 466 square kilometers (180 sq mi), making it one of the smallest countries in the world. The most populous island is Koror, home to the country's most populous city of the same name. The capital Ngerulmud is located on the largest island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with international waters to the north, the Federated States of Micronesia to the east, Indonesia to the south, and the Philippines to the northwest.
Manila galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex
Village on the Palau Islands, painting by Rudolf Hellgrewe c. 1908
Koror chiefs in 1915
Palau in Japanese mandate
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.
Tarawa Atoll
Mount Marpi in Saipan.
Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands
Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll