United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

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Map of islands and their locations in the Pacific Ocean
Map of islands and their locations in the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a group of unorganized, unincorporated - or in the case of Palmyra Atoll, incorporated - American Pacific Island territories managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the 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.

Contents

[edit] Geography

[edit] Location and area

The following islands constitute the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex:

  • Howland Island, an island in the North Pacific Ocean 1,815 nmi (3,361 km) southwest of Honolulu, coordinates 0°48′N, 176°38′W, about half way between Hawaii and Australia. The island has a total area of 139 km², of which 2.6 km² is land and 136 km² is water.
  • Jarvis Island, an island in the South Pacific Ocean 1,305 nmi (2,417 km) south of Honolulu, coordinates 0°23′S, 160°01′W, about half way between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. The island has a total area of 152 km², of which 5 km² is land and 147 km² is water.
  • Johnston Atoll, an atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nmi (1,328 km) southwest of Honolulu, coordinates 16°45′N, 169°31′W, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands. The atoll has a total area of 276.6 km², of which 2.6 km² is land and 274 km² is water.
  • Kingman Reef, a reef in the North Pacific Ocean 930 nmi (1,722 km) south of Honolulu, coordinates 6°23′N, 162°25′W, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa. The reef has a total area of 1,958.01 km², of which 0.01 km² is land and 1,958 km² is water.
  • Midway Atoll, an atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,260 nmi (2,334 km) northwest of Honolulu near the end of the Hawaiian Archipelago, coordinates 28°12′N, 177°22′W, about one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo. The atoll has a total area of 2,355.2 km², of which 6.2 km² is land and 2,349 km² is water.
  • Palmyra Atoll, an atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 960 nmi (1,778 km) south of Honolulu, coordinates 5°53′N, 162°05′W, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa. The atoll has a total area of 1,949 km², of which 3.9 km² is land and 1,946 km² is water.

[edit] Climate

Because the islands are scattered throughout the ocean, the climate is different on each island. Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands have an equatorial climate, with scant rainfall, constant wind, and burning sun. Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef have a tropical climate, but are generally dry, with consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation. Midway Atoll has a subtropical climate 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 has a hot, equatorial climate. Because the atoll located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone 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.

[edit] Population

The islands have no indigenous inhabitants. On Johnston Atoll in previous years, an average of 1,100 US military and civilian contractor personnel were present, but as of May 2005 all US government personnel had left the island. Approximately 40 people, staff of US Fish and Wildlife Service and their services contractor, live at Midway Atoll. Four to 20 Nature Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife staff live at Palmyra Atoll. The other islands are usually uninhabited.

Public entry to the islands is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators. Only Midway Atoll and Palmyra Atoll have serviceable runways; Baker Island, Howland Island, and Johnston Atoll had airstrips in earlier times but they have since been abandoned and are no longer operational.

[edit] See also

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.