Early European explorers called the ruined city of Nan Madol the "Eighth Wonder of the
World" and the "Venice of the Pacific" because the ancient city was built upon a coral reef and is
intersected by artificial water canals. When it was first chronicled by Western biographers, they too were confounded about how the site could have reached its megalithic proportions. One of the biggest mysteries is why the builders would go to all the trouble in creating islands, rather than just building on dry land and how could such a huge undertaking have taken place?