Editing Angaur (section)

== Geography ==
Angaur is a coralline island located some 10&nbsp;km southwest of [[Peleliu|Beliliou]] at the southern tip of the main group of islands in the archipelago, and is situated outside of the lagoon and enclosing reef for this main group. Angaur is surrounded by a thin reef which encloses a narrow lagoon, though for the most part the reef is so small and low that it offers little impediment to the waves which break directly on the steep cliffs which ring the island. Distinct from the [[Rock Islands|rock islands]] which lie between Beliliou and [[Koror]], Angaur is a raised platform island. The profile of the island is a low table with very little relief. The highest point on the island, a small hill northwest of Rois, is only 40 m above sea level, and most of the island is less than 10 m above sea level. On the ground, however, the terrain is very rugged with steep, jagged outcrops of ancient reef rising unpredictably in a tangled maze. To the northwest the ground is slightly higher, and to the southeast the ground is slightly lower with marshy swamps across the [[karst]]ic landscape.<ref name=":1" />

Modern settlement on Angaur is concentrated on the west coast south of the harbor to a point of land called Bkul a Usas. Separated by lines of social division are the modern villages of Rois and Ngaramasch.<ref name=":1" />

Most of Angaur is covered with a mixed limestone forest which includes several small stands of [[casuarina]] forest (ironwood orngas trees). Surrounding the modern villages and many houses are garden plots and interspersed with these are small pockets of [[Agroforestry|agroforest]] (a variety of trees providing useful domestic products and foodstuffs). A large area of [[taro]] swamp gardens known as Ngetkebui lies in the southern part of the island.<ref name=":1" />

The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (3&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>). Its population was 130 in 2012.<ref name="2013syb">{{cite web|title=2013 ROP Statistical Yearbook|url=http://palaugov.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/2013-ROP-Statistical-Yearbook.pdf|access-date=4 August 2014|publisher=Bureau of Budget & Planning}}</ref> The state [[Capital (political)|capital]] is the village of [[Ngeremasch]] on the western side. A second village, Rois, is immediately east of Ngeremasch. Angaur Island is located southwest of [[Peleliu]], and it is a popular surfing location.

=== Phosphate ===
Long before people came to this part of the Pacific Ocean, Angaur was a nesting ground for large numbers of birds whose droppings would eventually become [[phosphate]] deposits. In the early part of the 20th century, [[phosphate mine]]s were started in the rugged terrain in the northwest part of the island and along the east coast. These mines, started during the German administration, were in operation periodically for three administrations ending in the 1950s in the American Period. The mined phosphate was initially processed and loaded on ships at a small harbor on the west side of the island. Apparently this small natural harbor has been expanded during the course of phosphate mining. Also constructed with the harbor expansion was a lighthouse whose abandoned remains are situated on the high ground to the northwest.<ref name=":1" />