Its total land area of the nine islets is only 0.4 square kilometers (0.15 sq mi).

Nugulu is located approximately 104 kilometers (65 mi) south-southwest of Yap and is the westernmost atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia.

[1] First recorded sighting of Ngulu Atoll was by the Spanish navigator Alonso de Arellano on 23 January 1565 on board of the patache San Lucas.

The island came under the control of the Empire of Japan after World War I, and was subsequently administered under the South Seas Mandate.

Following World War II, the island came under the control of the United States of America and was administered as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1947, and became part of the Federated States of Micronesia from 1979.