Funafuti

Funafuti, the capital of the small island nation of Tuvalu, has a population of approximately 4,000, making it the most populated atoll in this minuscule country. Not a city in the traditional sense, it is really a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 meters wide, encircling a large lagoon. There is an airstrip, hotel, and administrative buildings, as well as homes, constructed both in the traditional manner, out of palm fronds, and more recently out of cement blocks. The most prominent building on Funafuti atoll is the Church of Tuvalu. Other sites of interest are the remains of American aircraft that crashed on Funafuti during World War II, when the airstrip was used by the American forces to defend the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati).