| Likiep Atoll | |
| Map: | Marshall Islands |
| Location: | North Pacific |
| Coordinates: | 9.9°N 169.1333°W |
| Country: |  Marshall Islands |
| Archipelago: | Ratak |
| Total Islands: | 65 |
| Area Km2: | 10.26 |
| Elevation M: | 10 |
| Population: | 228 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Ethnic Groups: | Marshallese |
| Image Map Caption: | Map of the atoll |
Likiep Atoll (Marshallese: Marshallese: Likiep, [1]) is a coral atoll of 65 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is approximately 55km (34miles) northwest of Wotje. Its total land area is only 10.26km2, but that encloses a deep central lagoon of 424km2. Likiep Atoll also possesses the Marshall Islands' highest point, an unnamed knoll 10m (30feet) above sea level. The population of Likiep Atoll was 228 in 2021.[2]
The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos in January 1543. On 5 January 1565, its sighting was again recorded by the patache San Lucas, commanded by Alonso de Arellano, part of the Spanish expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi, which had by then separated from Legazpi's fleet. On 12 January 1565, it was Legazpi who arrived to Likiep Atoll and charted them as Los Corrales ("farmyards" in Spanish).[3]
In 1877, Likiep Atoll was purchased by Georg Eduard Adolph Capelle, a German trader, and partner with whaler Anton Debrum in the trading firm Capelle & Co, which traded extensively in copra and marine products throughout Micronesia. Likiep Atoll was claimed by the German Empire along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1885.[4] After World War I, the island came under the South Seas Mandate of the Empire of Japan. The base became part of the vast US Naval Base Marshall Islands. Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States, as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986.
Debrum House (1890), on Likiep Island, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Key islands making up Likiep Atoll include:
Marshall Islands Public School System operates public schools:[5]
Northern Islands High School on Wotje serves the community.[6]