| Kwajalein Atoll is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island.
The atoll lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nautical miles (3900 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Kwajalein is one of the world's largest coral atolls as measured by area of enclosed water. Comprising 97 islets, it has a land area of 16.4 kmē, and surrounds one of the largest lagoons in the world, with an area of 2174 kmē.
Kwajalein Island is the southernmost, and the largest, of the islands in the Kwajalein atoll. The northernmost, and second largest, island is Roi-Namur.
The population of Kwajalein island is approximately 2,600, mostly Americans and a small number of Marshall Islanders and other nationals, all of whom have express permission from the U.S. Army to live there.
The primary mode of personal transportation is the bicycle and housing is free for most personnel, depending on contract or tour of duty.
Although the Marshall Islands was officially granted independence from the United States, and became an independent republic in 1986, Kwajalein atoll is still used by the United States for missile testing and various other operations. While this military history has deeply influenced the lives of the Marshall Islanders who have lived in the atoll through the war to the present, the military history of Kwajalein has made tourism almost non-existent and has kept the environment in relatively pristine condition. American civilians and their families who reside at the military installations in Kwajalein are able to enjoy this environment with few restrictions. Kwajalein lagoon offers excellent wreck diving of mostly Japanese ships, a few planes and the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Spear fishing and deep sea fishing are also exceptional. 80 degree water temperature and 100 foot visibility are common when scuba diving on the ocean side of the atoll.
A neighboring island Ebeye has the largest population in the atoll, with approximately 13,000 residents (mostly Marshall Islanders and a small population of migrants and volunteers from other island groups and nations) living on 80 acres (320,000 mē) of land. Ebeye is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Roi-Namur used to be 3 separate islands: Roi, Namur and Enidrikdrik. After WWII, while the US had control of the atoll, they mostly paved over Enidrikdrik and renamed the resulting island Roi-Namur.
Since 1961 several tests of anti-ballistic missiles were performed on Kwajalein. Therefore there are launchpads on Illeginni Island , Roi-Namur Island and Kwajalein Drop Zone, Pacific Ocean.
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