The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Kwajalein
(kwä´jäln, ln, ln) (KEY) , coral atoll, 6.5 sq mi (16.8 sq km), central Pacific, in the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. The largest atoll of the Marshalls, Kwajalein, consists of a group of 97 islets surrounding a lagoon. A large Japanese naval and air base was located there during World War II, and after the U.S. conquest of the Marshalls (1944) U.S. military bases were established. A U.S. antimissile-missile test base is on Kwajalein.