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Palau's Rock Islands
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez
The picturesque nation of Palau forms an island chain southeast of the Philippines roughly 125 miles (200 kilometers) long. A trust territory of the United States from 1947 until 1994, this Micronesian archipelago is made up of eight large islands and some 250 islets.
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Rock Islands in Palau
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez
Palau's Rock Islands appear to sit on giant pedestals. Formed by ancient coral reefs, the bases of these limestone formations have been slowly eroded over millennia into quirky mushroom shapes.
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Kayakers in Palau
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez
Kayakers ply the waters around Palau's Rock Islands. Underwater visibility around Palau's pristine islands can be up to 200 feet (60 meters), and its massive coral walls, underwater caves, and even sunken planes and ships from World War II bring divers from all over the world.
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Ucheliuns Cave, Palau
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez
A man carries gear into Ucheliuns Cave in Palau. Humans have lived on Palau for more than 4,000 years and have used the archipelago's numerous limestone caves for many purposes, including as burial grounds. Bones of diminutive humans found in one Palauan cave have fueled an ongoing debate about the possibility of a unique, archaic human species.
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Palau Cave Markings
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez
Elaborate drawings adorn the walls of a rock shelter on Palau's Ulong Island. This Pacific archipelago's many caves and natural rock formations have housed humans going back some 4,000 years.
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Stone Pillars in Palau
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez
Stone monoliths rise from a field in Badrulchau on Palau's Babeldoab Island. Archeologists date these structures to around A.D. 161 and believe some may have been supports for a massive structure.
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Palau Spearfisher
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez
A tour guide in Palau spearfishes off the Rock Islands. In the past, tribal rules permitted only local residents to fish in the lagoons of the Rock Islands. Today, angling is allowed by visitors, but commercial fishing is banned.
