Location: Oceania, Polynesia, in the North Pacific Ocean, 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia

Map references: Oceania

Area:
total area: 1.6 sq km
land area: 1.6 sq km
comparative area: about 2.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 6.4 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Terrain: low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef; depressed central area

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 5%
other: 95%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
current issues: lacks freshwater
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: NA

Note: almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; small area of trees in the center; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats

NOTE: The information regarding Howland Island on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Howland Island Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Howland Island Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.