Chuuk State has a total land area of 49.2 square miles and includes seven major island groups. Kosrae is essentially one high island of 42.3 square miles. Climate FSM enjoys a tropical climate, with relatively even, warm temperatures throughout the year. Rainfall is generally plentiful, and Pohnpei reputedly is one of the wettest places on Earth, with up to 330 inches of rain per year. At these times groundwater supplies have dwindled to emergency proportions.
Tropical typhoons constitute an annual threat, particularly to the low-lying atolls.
Land Ownership and Use Land ownership in the FSM can best be characterized as one of small holdings. Most property is held as family trusts and land use rights are passed down from generation to generation within the extended family system. Subsurface property rights are synonymous with surface rights. There are no publicly-owned subsurface mineral or water rights in any of the states. Land ownership is limited by the Constitution to citizens only.