Most atolls are very thin rings of land with a small lagoon inside. Kiritimati is different — it has so much coral land that it covers about 388 square kilometres, which is bigger than many capital cities. The lagoon inside is dotted with smaller ponds and channels, and the whole island looks a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle of blue water and green land from the air.
Kiritimati is especially famous among birdwatchers. Millions of seabirds nest here, including frigatebirds, golden plovers, and red-tailed tropicbirds. Because so few people live on the island and much of it is wild, the birds have space to build huge nesting colonies. Walking near a nesting site, you might hear a whole sky full of calling birds overhead.
The island is also well known for bonefish, a silvery fish that swims in the shallow lagoon waters. Anglers — people who love fishing — travel from all over the world to fish for bonefish at Kiritimati because the lagoon is so clear and the fish are so plentiful. Locals have fished these waters for generations, knowing exactly which channels the fish like best.