Location:
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1328 km southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands

Geographic coordinates:
16 45 N, 169 31 W

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 2.63 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 2.63 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 254

Area - comparative:
about 4.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
34 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]

Climate:
tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:
mostly flat

Natural resources:
guano deposits (worked until about 1890), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife

Natural hazards:
occasional tropical cyclones; coral reef to the north and west of the atoll is a maritime hazard

Environment - current issues:
no natural fresh water resources

Geography - note:
strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; 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; a former US nuclear weapons test site; site of now-closed Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS); most facilities dismantled and cleanup complete in 2004; some low-growing vegetation