The Maloelap Atoll (Marshallese: M̧aļoeļap, [mˠɑɫʌ͡ɔɔ̯-ɛ̯ɛ͡ʌɫɑ͡æpʲ]) (also spelled Maleolap) is a coral atoll of 71 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is only 9.8 square kilometres (3.8 sq mi), but that encloses a lagoon of 972 square kilometres (375 sq mi). It is located 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of the atoll of Aur. In 1999 the population of the islands of the atoll was 856.