Map of United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background
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 uninhabited atoll was officially claimed by the US in 1857. Both US and British companies mined for guano deposits 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, 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.


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Location
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 reference: Oceania

Area
Baker island: total - 129.1 km²; emergent land - 2.1 km²; submerged - 127 km²
Howland island: total - 138.6 km²; emergent land - 2.6 km²; submerged - 136 km²
Jarvis island: total - 152 km²; emergent land - 5 km²; submerged - 147 km²
Johnston atoll: total - 276.6 km²; emergent land - 2.6 km²; submerged - 274 km²
Kingman reef: total - 1,958.01 km²; emergent land - 0.01 km²; submerged - 1,958 km²
Midway islands: total - 2,355.2 km²; emergent land - 6.2 km²; submerged - 2,349 km²
Palmyra atoll: total - 1,949.9 km²; emergent land - 3.9 km²; submerged - 1,946 km²
Comparative baker island: about two and a half times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Comparative howland island: about three times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Comparative jarvis island: about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Comparative johnston atoll: about four and a half times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Comparative kingman reef: a little more than one and a half times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Comparative midway islands: about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Comparative 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

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Extremes 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 2 m; Midway Islands, unnamed location - 13 m; Palmyra Atoll, unnamed location - 3 m

Natural resources: terrestrial and aquatic wildlife

Land use
Arable land: 0%
Permanent crops: 0%
Other: 100% (2008)

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards
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

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
Note 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
Note kingman reef: barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon; closed to the public
Note 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
Note 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


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Population
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

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religions

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate

Death rate

Net migration rate

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues baker howland and jarvis islands and johnston atoll: no natural fresh water resources
Current issues kingman reef: none
Current issues midway islands and palmyra atoll: NA

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Baker Island; Howland Island; Jarvis Island; Johnston Atoll; Kingman Reef; Midway Islands; Palmyra Atoll

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system: the laws of the US where applicable apply

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation
From the us: none (territories of the US)

Flag description: the flag of the US is used

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: no economic activity

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products

Industries

Industrial production growth rate

Labor force

Unemployment rate

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports

Imports

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


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Electricity

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

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)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

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


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs