Kiebu, the second largest islet, has an even smaller, completely landlocked lagoon on its eastern side, with about 80 m in diameter (making an area of about 0.005 km2 or 0.5 hectares) and at distance of 60 m to the open sea.

[2] Higher sea levels are resulting in saltwater intrusion to bwabwai or babai (Cyrtosperma merkusii or giant swamp taro) pits and coastal erosion.

More recently, the increasing incidence of unusually high tides has caused the intrusion of saltwater into the communal pit, resulting in salt contamination and damage of food crops.

Most houses are made from local materials, and most households rely on fish, coconut and fruit (particularly banana and papaya) as the mainstay of their diet, though imported rice, sugar and tobacco are also seen as necessities.

[Note 1] Nakaa Beach is located at the northern tip of Makin Atoll is an important site in the traditional mythology of the island group, being the departing point for the spirits of the dead heading to the underworld.

[2] In 1606 Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted Butaritari and Makin, which he named the Buen Viaje (‘good trip’ in Spanish) Islands.

[11] Japanese forces occupied the island in December 1941, days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, in order to protect their south-eastern flank from allied counterattacks, and isolate Australia, under the codename Operation FS.

[12] Makin is featured in Call of Duty: World at War, in the first single player level ‘Semper Fi’, and two multi-player maps, 'Makin' and 'Makin Day'.

Griffin's novel Call To Arms, Book Two of The Corps series, focuses on the forming of the Marine Raiders and the raid on Makin Island, as told through the novel's protagonist, Lt. Kenneth 'Killer' McCoy.