Teraina was sighted on 12 June 1798 by the American whaling captain Edmund Fanning of Betsy; he named the island for George Washington but did not attempt to land.

The first exploration of the island arrived later with captain Adam Johann von Krusenstern, on a Russian expedition (called then New Marquesas).

[1] At various times, contract laborers were brought from Manihiki, Tahiti, and the Gilbert Islands to work the coconut plantations.

[1] All villages are listed in the following table, with the preliminary census results of 2005, counterclockwise around the perimeter of the atoll, starting in the northeast with Abaiang and ending in the southeast with Onauea.

Being only about 520 km (320 mi; 280 nmi) away from the equator, Teeraina is inside the ITCZ; its climate is thus extremely humid, making it one of the "wet" Pacific islands.

[12] The western inland is made up by peat bog, which is still flooded after heavy rains,[13] and constitutes infilled former lakebed.

In any case, the canal network now opens to the sea south of Tangkore, and there is a direct connection from the lake to the ocean at Teraina's eastern tip.

Firstly, as is readily apparent from its peculiar geographical and geological features, it possesses a combination of ecosystems that is quite unique in the entire world.

[3] Though it is globally endangered, the Rimatara lorikeet (Vini kuhlii) does not appear to be in need of formal protection;[15] it actually benefits from human land use change and the feral cats.

The palms occur in wet forest around the bogs, mixed with Pandanus (screwpine), and an undergrowth dominated by the ferns Asplenium pacificum and Phymatosorus scolopendria.

In more elevated places near the beach, Pisonia (catchbird tree) atoll forest is found, though Teraina has not that much of this ubiquitous Pacific ecosystem for its size.

[5] Though numerous seabirds nest on Teraina, for many such species the limited habitat makes it a less important rookery than other, similar-sized raised atolls.

Among migratory birds, the ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres), sanderling (Calidris alba), bristle-thighed curlew (Numenius tahitiensis), Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva), and grey-tailed (Tringa brevipes) and wandering tattlers (T. incana) use Teraina as stopover location or winter quarters on a regular basis.

Other shorebirds, gulls, and occasionally ducks of North American and East Asian species may occur as vagrants.

[13] It is surrounded by considerable mystery, mainly as regards the origin of the population, the age and therefore validity of the subspecies (it is sometimes disputed to be significantly distinct), and the causes and date of its disappearance.

This small greyish passerine is well-known, due to its bold and inquisitive habits, and its song, a series of alternating higher and lower squeaks after which it is named.

It is a tiny parrot with brilliant plumage and an endearing and highly social behavior, owing to which they were known to late 19th century settlers as "love-birds".

[13] This species was originally native to the Austral and Cook Islands in SE Polynesia, a long distance to the south.

They were treasured by the natives of the Society Islands and were an item of high value in inter-island trade; these birds were kept as pets, and in addition their feathers were used in crafts and art.

Since it is almost inconceivable – given the prevailing winds, ocean currents, known trade routes, and the difficulty with which these birds can be kept alive during voyages[13] – that Vini kuhlii was transported from the Austral or Cook Islands to the Gilbert Islands and from there to Teraina, the presence of the birds there is best explained by them having been introduced by SE Polynesian travelers.

[15] As it thus seems clear that there was prehistoric human activity of some degree on Teraina, it is also likely that birds became extinct consequently, like on all such Outer Pacific islands for which research has been conducted.

If the sea level were only half a meter (c. 2 ft) higher it is certainly possible that the forest and freshwater lake would be replaced by shrubland or dunes and a brackish lagoon.

Thus it may be presumed that the lake is continuously being restocked from the Pacific, though apparently no actual field data exists on the habits of the eels of Teraina.

It is not a very important nesting site however and the clutches have a rather low probability of success, as Teraina is one of the Kiribati islands where turtle egg collecting is permitted.