All of the following US Pacific
island territories except Midway Atoll constitute the Pacific Remote
Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex and as such are managed by the
Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior. Midway
Atoll NWR has been included in a Refuge Complex with the Hawaiian Islands
NWR and also designated as part of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument. These remote refuges are the most widespread collection of
marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a single
country's jurisdiction. They protect many endemic species including
corals, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, water birds, land
birds, insects, and vegetation not found elsewhere. Baker
Island: The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano
deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of
the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization began on
this island but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned.
The island was established as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1974.
Howland Island: Discovered by the US early in the 19th century,
the island was officially claimed by the US in 1857. Both US and British
companies mined for guano until about 1890. In 1935, a short-lived attempt
at colonization began on this island, similar to the effort on nearby
Baker Island, but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned.
The famed American aviatrix Amelia EARHART disappeared while seeking out
Howland Island as a refueling stop during her 1937 round-the-world flight;
Earhart Light, a day beacon near the middle of the west coast, was named
in her memory. The island was established as a National Wildlife Refuge in
1974. Jarvis Island: First discovered by the British in 1821,
the uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858, but abandoned in
1879 after tons of guano had been removed. The UK annexed the island in
1889, but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The US
occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935 until it was abandoned in 1942
during World War II. The island was established as a National Wildlife
Refuge in 1974. Johnston Atoll: Both the US and the Kingdom of
Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the
guano deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston and Sand Islands were
designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll in
1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site
was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s, and until
late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for
chemical weapons. Munitions destruction is now complete. Cleanup and
closure of the facility was completed by May 2005. The Fish and Wildlife
Service and the US Air Force are currently discussing future management
options; in the interim, Johnston Atoll and the three-mile Naval Defensive
Sea around it remain under the jurisdiction and administrative control of
the US Air Force. Kingman Reef: The US annexed the reef in
1922. Its sheltered lagoon served as a way station for flying boats on
Hawaii-to-American Samoa flights during the late 1930s. There are no
terrestrial plants on the reef, which is frequently awash, but it does
support abundant and diverse marine fauna and flora. In 2001, the waters
surrounding the reef out to 12 nm were designated a US National Wildlife
Refuge. Midway Islands: The US took formal possession of the
islands in 1867. The laying of the trans-Pacific cable, which passed
through the islands, brought the first residents in 1903. Between 1935 and
1947, Midway was used as a refueling stop for trans-Pacific flights. The
US naval victory over a Japanese fleet off Midway in 1942 was one of the
turning points of World War II. The islands continued to serve as a naval
station until closed in 1993. Today the islands are a National Wildlife
Refuge and are the site of the world's largest Laysan albatross colony.
Palmyra Atoll: The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862,
and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the
archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include
Palmyra Atoll, which is now partly privately owned by the Nature
Conservancy with the rest owned by the Federal government and managed by
the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These organizations are managing the
atoll as a wildlife refuge. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the
12 nm US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife
Service and designated as a National Wildlife Refuge in January 2001.
Geography
United States Pacific Island Wildlife
Refuges
Location:
Oceania Baker
Island: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,830 nm (3,389 km) southwest
of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Australia Howland
Island: island in the North Pacific Ocean 1,815 nm (3,361 km)
southwest of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Australia
Jarvis Island: island in the South Pacific Ocean 1,305 nm
(2,417 km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and Cook
Islands Johnston Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nm
(1,328 km) southwest of Honolulu, about one-third of the way from Hawaii
to the Marshall Islands Kingman Reef: reef in the North Pacific
Ocean 930 nm (1,722 km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii
and American Samoa Midway Islands: atoll in the North Pacific
Ocean 1,260 nm (2,334 km) northwest of Honolulu near the end of the
Hawaiian Archipelago, about one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo
Palmyra Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 960 nm (1,778
km) south of Honolulu, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa
Geographic coordinates:
Baker Island: 0 13 N,
176 28 W Howland Island: 0 48 N, 176 38 W Jarvis
Island: 0 23 S, 160 01 W Johnston Atoll: 16 45 N, 169 31 W
Kingman Reef: 6 23 N, 162 25 W Midway Islands: 28 12
N, 177 22 W Palmyra Atoll: 5 53 N, 162 05 W
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total - 6,959.41 sq km;
emergent land - 22.41 sq km; submerged - 6,937 sq km Baker
Island: total - 129.1 sq km; emergent land - 2.1 sq km; submerged -
127 sq km Howland Island: total - 138.6 sq km; emergent land -
2.6 sq km; submerged - 136 sq km Jarvis Island: total - 152 sq
km; emergent land - 5 sq km; submerged - 147 sq km Johnston
Atoll: total - 276.6 sq km; emergent land - 2.6 sq km; submerged - 274
sq km Kingman Reef: total - 1,958.01 sq km; emergent land -
0.01 sq km; submerged - 1,958 sq km Midway Islands: total -
2,355.2 sq km; emergent land - 6.2 sq km; submerged - 2,349 sq km
Palmyra Atoll: total - 1,949.9 sq km; emergent land - 3.9 sq
km; submerged - 1,946 sq km
Area - comparative:
Baker Island: about two
and a half times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC Howland
Island: about three times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Jarvis Island: about eight times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC Johnston Atoll: about four and a half times the
size of The Mall in Washington, DC Kingman Reef: a little more
than one and a half times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Midway Islands: about nine times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC Palmyra Atoll: about 20 times the size of The
Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
Baker Island: 4.8 km
Howland Island: 6.4 km Jarvis Island: 8 km
Johnston Atoll: 34 km Kingman Reef: 3 km
Midway Islands: 15 km Palmyra Atoll: 14.5 km
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis
Islands: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef: tropical, but generally dry;
consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature
variation Midway Islands: subtropical with cool, moist winters
(December to February) and warm, dry summers (May to October); moderated
by prevailing easterly winds; most of the 1,067 mm (42 in) of annual
rainfall occurs during the winter Palmyra Atoll: equatorial,
hot; located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence
Zone (ITCZ) where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is
extremely wet with between 4,000-5,000 mm (160-200 in) of rainfall each
year
Terrain:
low and nearly level sandy
coral islands with narrow fringing reefs that have developed at the top of
submerged volcanic mountains, which in most cases rise steeply from the
ocean floor
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific
Ocean 0 m highest point: Baker Island, unnamed location - 8 m;
Howland Island, unnamed location - 3 m; Jarvis Island, unnamed location -
7 m; Johnston Atoll, Sand Island - 10 m; Kingman Reef, unnamed location -
less than 2 m; Midway Islands, unnamed location - 13 m; Palmyra Atoll,
unnamed location - 3 m
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis
Islands: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a
maritime hazard Kingman Reef: wet or awash most of the time,
maximum elevation of less than 2 m makes Kingman Reef a maritime hazard
Midway Islands, Johnston, and Palmyra Atolls: NA
Environment - current issues:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis
Islands, and Johnston Atoll: no natural fresh water resources
Kingman Reef: none Midway Islands and Palmyra Atoll:
NA
Geography - note:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis
Islands: scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines,
and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging
habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; closed to the
public Johnston Atoll: Johnston Island and Sand Island are
natural islands, which have been expanded by coral dredging; North Island
(Akau) and East Island (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral
dredging; the egg-shaped reef is 34 km in circumference; closed to the
public Kingman Reef: barren coral atoll with deep interior
lagoon; closed to the public Midway Islands: a coral atoll
managed as a national wildlife refuge and open to the public for
wildlife-related recreation in the form of wildlife observation and
photography Palmyra Atoll: the high rainfall and resulting lush
vegetation make the environment of this atoll unique among the US Pacific
Island territories; supports a large undisturbed stand of Pisonia beach
forest
People
United States Pacific Island Wildlife
Refuges
Population:
no indigenous inhabitants
note: public entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and
Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and
educators; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service
Johnston Atoll: in previous years, an average of 1,100 US
military and civilian contractor personnel were present; as of May 2005
all US government personnel had left the island Midway Islands:
approximately 40 people make up the staff of US Fish and Wildlife Service
and their services contractor living at the atoll Palmyra
Atoll: four to 20 Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife staff, and
researchers
unincorporated territories of
the US; administered from Washington, DC by the Fish and Wildlife Service
of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife
Refuge system note on Palmyra Atoll: incorporated Territory of
the US; partly privately owned and partly federally owned; administered
from Washington, DC by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department
of the Interior; the Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of the
Interior continues to administer nine excluded areas comprising certain
tidal and submerged lands within the 12 nm territorial sea or within the
lagoon
Legal system:
the laws of the US, where
applicable, apply
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territories of the US)
Flag description:
the flag of the US is used
Economy
United States Pacific Island Wildlife
Refuges
Economy - overview:
no economic activity
Transportation
United States Pacific Island Wildlife
Refuges
Airports:
Baker Island: one
abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m covered with vegetation and
unusable Howland Island: airstrip constructed in 1937 for
scheduled refueling stop on the round-the-world flight of Amelia EARHART
and Fred NOONAN; the aviators left Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island but
were never seen again; the airstrip is no longer serviceable
Johnston Atoll: one closed and not maintained Kingman
Reef: lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and American
Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938
Midway Islands: 3 - one operational (2,409 m paved); no fuel
for sale except emergencies Palmyra Atoll: 1 - 1,846 m unpaved
runway; privately owned (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis
Islands, and Kingman Reef: none; offshore anchorage only
Johnston Atoll: Johnston Island Midway Islands: Sand
Island Palmyra Atoll: West Lagoon
