from
CIA World Factbook 2006
United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
Introduction
Background: The following US Pacific island territories 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 Interior.
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
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 the 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 Baker Island: 0 13 N, 176 28 W
coordinates: 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 Oceania
references:
Area: total - 6,959.41 sq km; emergent land - 22.41 sq km;
submerged - 6,937 sq km
Baker Island: total - 129 sq km; emergent land - 2.1 sq
km; submerged - 127 sq km
Howland Island: total - 139 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 - Baker Island: about two and a half times the size of
comparative: 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 none
boundaries:
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
Maritime territorial sea: 12 nm
claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: 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 lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
extremes: 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 1 m;
Midway Islands, unnamed location - 13 m; Palmyra Atoll,
unnamed location - 2 m
Natural terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
resources:
Land use: arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2005)
Natural Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: the narrow fringing
hazards: reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Kingman Reef: wet or awash most of the time, maximum
elevation of less than 1 m makes Kingman Reef a
maritime hazard
Midway Islands, Johnston, and Palmyra Atolls: NA
Environment - Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, and Johnston Atoll:
current no natural fresh water resources
issues: Kingman Reef: none
Midway Islands and Palmyra Atoll: NA
Geography - Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: scattered
note: vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and
low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and
foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine
wildlife
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
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; it supports
one of the largest remaining undisturbed stands of
Pisonia beach forest in the Pacific
People
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 and US
Fish and Wildlife staff
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Baker Island; Howland Island;
Jarvis Island; Johnston Atoll; Kingman Reef; Midway
Islands; Palmyra Atoll
Dependency unincorporated territories of the US; administered from
status: 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
Flag the flag of the US is used
description:
Economy
Economy - no economic activity
overview:
Transportation
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: 1 - 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 (2006)
Ports and Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, and Kingman Reef:
terminals: none; offshore anchorage only
Johnston Atoll: Johnston Island
Midway Islands: Sand Island
Palmyra Atoll: West Lagoon
Military
Military - defense is the responsibility of the US
note:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - none
international: