MicronesiaCaroline IslandsVolcanic island
Kosrae
109 km² rising to 634 m out of the Pacific Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
109km²
Area
65km
Coastline
634m
Highest point
5,092
People
30°C
Warmest sea
September
2,863km
To the mainland
When to go to Kosrae
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in September (30 °C) and coolest in February (29 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Federated States of Micronesia
Kosrae is an volcanic island in Micronesia. It belongs to Caroline Islands. It covers 109 km², with 65 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 634 m. About 5,092 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2,863 km away.
Getting there
- Kosrae International Airport (KSA)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
- 2,863 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Kosrae.
- 1beaches
- 1viewpoints
- 9named peaksFinol Finkol, Finol Oma, Finol Tafuyat and 6 more
- 1ruins and archaeological sitesLikinlulem
- 2hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 1restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 115 m above the sea. 79 % of it is below 200 m.
- 38 %0–50 m
- 42 %50–200 m
- 20 %200–500 m
- <1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Tofol9,686 people
- Malem1,039 people
- Utwe781 people
- Tafunsakno census figure
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 255 | 223 | 261 | 350 | 292 | 248 | 256 | 224 | 226 | 226 | 253 | 304 |
| Wet days | 25 | 21 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 26 |
| Sun h/day | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 6.1 | 5.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 26 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 23 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.5 | −0.3 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 |
| 2023 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q459848) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit