Kayangel[2][3] (Ngcheangel) is the northernmost state of Palau[4][5] 86 km (53 mi) north of Koror.

[6] The state was colonized by Spain from the end of the 16th century until 1899 when the territory was sold to the German Empire.

The United States ruled the area from World War II until the independence of Palau.

The Palau Parliament passed a joint resolution in January 2005 supporting a 2002 agreement between the Kayangel State and Palau Pacific Energy Inc. (PPE) in 2002, granting the oil company exclusive rights to explore, drill and produce oil in the surrounding marine area for a specified period of time.

Initially, the Palau government had opposed this on environmental grounds, but then bowed to a 2003 petition by Kayangel State residents in favor of exploration.

In 2013 Typhoon Haiyan left its wake of destruction on the island, causing Kayangel to be flooded in its entirety, and all homes were destroyed.

On the western side of the atoll, there is a small passage for boats into the lagoon, with a depth of only 2 to 4 metres (7 to 13 ft), called Ulach.

There are four densely wooded islets on the eastern and southern rim of the oval-shaped atoll, from north to south, are Kayangel, Ngeriungs, Ngerebelas and Orak.

The islet has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a large population of Micronesian megapodes.

The lagoon floor is covered with thick sand deposits and thickets of staghorn Acropora.

There is one small, barren and uninhabited islet, Ngaruangel Island, in the center of the eastern rim of the atoll, at its easternmost point.

Most of the pieces are rough or sharp and are largely of the Acropora reticulata type, or of similar form.

It is not clearly separated from Ngaruangl Reef and appears as its large but submerged northern extension on satellite images.

Heavy wave exposure limits coral diversity and cover on Velasco Reef.

JFK Kayangel Elementary School was built in 1965; initially students took classes in a bai.