North Keeling

It consists of just one C-shaped island, a nearly closed atoll ring with a small opening into the lagoon, about 50 metres (160 ft) wide, on the east side.

[2] North Keeling was visited in 1836 by Captain Robert FitzRoy and his companion Charles Darwin in HMS Beagle, who was, as with many other visitors, unable to land on the island.

[3] In 1915, a Japanese company proposed that the ship be repaired and refloated, but an inspection by HMAS Protector concluded that wave damage to Emden made such an operation unfeasible.

In 1986, an agreement was reached between the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Cocos Malay people to restrict and sustainably manage any further hunting on North Keeling.

The island has also been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because it supports over 1% of the world populations of red-footed boobies, lesser frigatebirds and common noddies.