While the FSM's total land area is quite small, it
occupies more than 2.600.000 km² of the Pacific Ocean, giving the country the
14th largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world. The sovereign island
nation's capital is Palikir, located on Pohnpei Island, while the largest city
is Weno, located in the Chuuk Atoll.
Each of its four states is centered on one or more
main high islands, and all but Kosrae include numerous outlying atolls. The
Federated States of Micronesia is spread across part of the Caroline Islands in
the wider region of Micronesia, which consists of thousands of small islands
divided among several countries. The term Micronesia may refer to the Federated
States or to the region as a whole.
The FSM was formerly a part of the Trust Territory of
the Pacific Islands (TTPI), a United Nations Trust Territory under U.S.
administration, but it formed its own constitutional government on 10 May 1979,
becoming a sovereign state after independence was attained on 3 November 1986
under a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Other neighbouring
island entities, and also former members of the TTPI, formulated their own
constitutional governments and became the Republic of the Marshall Islands
(RMI) and the Republic of Palau (ROP). The FSM has a seat in the United Nations
and has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983.
Yap or Wa′ab traditionally refers to an island located
in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of the Federated
States of Micronesia. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also
refer to the state within the Federated States of Micronesia, inclusive of the
Yap Main Islands and its various outer islands.
The Yap Main Islands are considered to be made up of
four separate islands: Yap Island, Gagil-Tamil, Maap and Rumung. The four are
contiguous, though separated by water, and are surrounded by a common coral
reef. They are referred to as "high" islands as opposed to atolls.
The land is mostly rolling hills, densely vegetated. Mangrove swamps line much
of the shore, although there are beaches on the northern sides of the islands. The
Yapese people's indigenous cultures and traditions are strong compared to other
states in Micronesia.
Colonia is the capital of the State of Yap which
includes the Yap Main Islands and the Yap Neighbouring Islands - the outer
islands (mostly atolls) reaching to the east and south from the Yap Main
Islands for some 800 km. Historically, a tributary system existed between the
Neighbouring Islands and the Yap Main Islands. This probably related to the
need for goods from the high islands, including food, as well as wood for
construction of seagoing vessels.
In 2000 the population of Colonia and ten other
municipalities totalled 11.241. The state has a total land area of 102 km².
I sent envelopes to all four states of FSM, using four
series of four stamps that each depict one of the states: island maps (1984),
state flags (1989), canoes (1993) and native costumes (1994). Three out of four
returned. The cover from Yap went through the US Postal Service in Honolulu and
unfortunately got a second cancellation there, although not so bad as the cover
from Kosrae.
The FSM Postal Services have a website, but for stamps
you have to contact the office manager: post.gov.fm.
Date sent: 10 May 2017
Date postmark: 29 May 2017
Date received: 7 June 2017
Number of days: 28
Envelope in collection: 147
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