MicronesiaArtificial islandUNESCO World Heritage

Nan Madol

0.60 km² of land in the Pacific Ocean.

N 0.2 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

0.60km²

Area

4km

Coastline

23m

Highest point

30°C

Warmest sea

September

2,608km

To the mainland

When to go to Nan Madol

Best for the beach from January to May.

The sea is warmest in September (30 °C) and coolest in February (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

28°28°28°

Jan23

28°28°28°

Feb20

29°28°28°

Mar22

29°29°28°

Apr25

29°29°28°

May27

29°29°28°

Jun28

29°28°28°

Jul29

30°28°28°

Aug29

30°28°28°

Sep28

30°28°28°

Oct29

29°29°28°

Nov26

29°29°28°

Dec26

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

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.

Ruined city of Federated States of Micronesesia

Nan Madol is an artificial island in Micronesia. It covers 0.60 km², with 4 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 23 m. The nearest mainland is 2,608 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built by people.

Getting there

Pohnpei International Airport (PNI)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 22 km in a straight line
2,608 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

Car hire in MicronesiaDiscover CarsSee

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.

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 8 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.

100 %0–50 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.

Nan Madol1 km²

Alcatraz Island0 km²

0.5 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Month by month

The weather on the island.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon high (°C)	28	28	28	29	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)	28	28	29	29	29	29	29	30	30	30	29	29
Rain (mm)	205	161	219	250	290	243	268	238	264	264	274	250
Wet days	23	20	22	25	27	28	29	29	28	29	26	26
Sun h/day	6.8	7.2	7.2	6.9	6.4	6.9	6.9	7.3	6.7	6.3	6.0	6.3
Wind (km/h)	27	27	26	24	20	19	15	13	14	14	18	25

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	+0.3	+0.6	+0.3	+0.4	+0.5	+0.6	+0.6	+0.6	+0.6	+0.8	+0.5	+0.5
2021	+0.4	+0.3	+0.4	+0.3	+0.3	+0.1	±0.0	+0.2	+0.3	+0.7	+0.4	+0.5
2022	+0.5	+0.4	+0.2	+0.1	+0.1	+0.1	−0.2	±0.0	+0.2	+0.2	+0.2	+0.5
2023	+0.7	+0.5	+0.8	+0.5	+0.5	+0.4	+0.4	+0.4	+0.6	+0.5	+0.5	+0.3
2024	+0.5	+0.5	+0.5	+0.5	+0.4	+0.7	+0.7	+0.9	+0.8	+0.8	+0.7	+0.8
2025	+0.8	+0.9	+0.4	+0.3	+0.2	+0.4	+0.3	+0.3	+0.5	+0.4	+0.2	+0.5

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Nan Madol, Pohnpei — Uhooep · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nan Madol and surroundings — Uhooep · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

Pohnpei

Micronesia346 km²791 m16 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, population	Wikidata (Q846967) · 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