United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges Geography - 2024

Location

Oceania

Baker Island: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 3,390 km southwest of Honolulu, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia;

Howland Island: island in the North Pacific Ocean 3,360 km southwest of Honolulu, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia;

Jarvis Island: island in the South Pacific Ocean 2,415 km south of Honolulu, about halfway between Hawaii and Cook Islands;

Johnston Atoll: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,330 km southwest of Honolulu, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands;

Kingman Reef: reef in the North Pacific Ocean 1,720 km south of Honolulu, about halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa;

Midway Islands: atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 2,335 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 1,780 km south of Honolulu, about halfway 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

land: 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 2.5 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC;

Howland Island: about three times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC;

Jarvis Island: about eight times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC;

Johnston Atoll: about 4.5 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC;

Kingman Reef: a little more than 1.5 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC;

Midway Islands: about nine times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC;

Palmyra Atoll: about 20 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

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 107 cm 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 400-500 cm of rainfall each year

Terrain

low and nearly flat 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

highest point:Baker Island, unnamed location 8 m; Howland Island, unnamed location 3 m; Jarvis Island, unnamed location 7 m; Johnston Atoll, Sand Island10 m; Kingman Reef, unnamed location 2 m; Midway Islands, unnamed location less than 13 m; Palmyra Atoll, unnamed location 3 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Natural resources

terrestrial and aquatic wildlife

Land use

other: 100% (2018 est.)

Natural hazards

Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island poses 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;

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