Howland Island is a coral island and strict nature reserve located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about 1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km) southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States. Together with Baker Island, it forms part of the Phoenix Islands. For statistical purposes, Howland is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The island has an elongated cucumber-shape on a north–south axis, 1.40 by 0.55 miles, and covers 1 square mile.
Reno is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the Truckee River valley, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, it is about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Lake Tahoe. Known as "The Biggest Little City in the World", Reno is the 80th most populous city in the United States, the fourth most populous city in Nevada, and the most populous in Nevada outside the Las Vegas Valley. The city had a population of 264,165 at the 2020 census.
Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her life, Earhart embraced celebrity culture and women's rights, and since her disappearance has become a global cultural figure. She was the first female pilot to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean and set many other records. She was one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.
Incline Village is an upscale census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,777 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno−Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Until the 2010 census, the CDP Crystal Bay, Nevada was counted jointly with Incline Village. It is governed by the Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID). IVGID is a quasi-public agency that provides water, sewer, trash and recreation services for Incline Village and Crystal Bay, Nevada.
Lake Tahoe is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at 6,225 ft (1,897 m) above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, and at 122,160,280 acre⋅ft (150.7 km3) it trails only the five Great Lakes as the largest by volume in the United States. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second deepest in the United States after Crater Lake in Oregon.
A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal, which is typically connected to an engine or electric motor. It is often considered a continuous system since it features a haul rope which continuously moves and circulates around two terminal stations. In contrast, an aerial tramway operates solely with fixed grips and simply shuttles back and forth between two end terminals.
Nikumaroro, previously known as Kemins Island or Gardner Island, is a part of the Phoenix Islands, Kiribati, in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a remote, elongated, triangular coral atoll with profuse vegetation and a large central marine lagoon. Nikumaroro is about 7.5 km (4.7 mi) long by 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide. The rim has two narrow entrances, both of which are blocked by a wide reef, which is dry at low tide. The ocean beyond the reef is very deep, and the only anchorage is at the island's west end, across the reef from the ruins of a mid-20th-century British colonial village, but this is safe only with the southeast trade winds. Landing has always been difficult and is most often done south of the anchorage. Although occupied at various times during the past, the island is uninhabited today.
Frederick Joseph Noonan was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer, who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean during the 1930s. As the flight navigator for famed aviator Amelia Earhart in their pioneering attempt at circumnavigating the globe, they disappeared somewhere over the central Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937.
George Palmer Putnam was an American publisher, writer and explorer. Known for his marriage to Amelia Earhart, he had also achieved fame as one of the most successful promoters in the United States during the 1930s.
The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Founded in 1929, the Ninety-Nines has 153 chapters and 27 regional 'sections' across the globe as of 2022, including a 'virtual' chapter, Ambassador 99s, which meets online for those who are too busy or mobile to be in one region for long.
Interstate 580 (I-580) is a 35.019-mile (56.358 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in Western Nevada. It runs concurrently with US Route 395 (US 395) from an intersection with US 50 near the southern boundary of Carson City to the Reno Spaghetti Bowl interchange with I-80 in Reno. The freeway provides a high-speed direct route between Lake Tahoe and Carson City to Reno and I-80.
The Reno–Tahoe Open, sponsored as the Barracuda Championship since 2014, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in California. Founded in 1999, it is an alternate event played annually in August. Previously held at Montrêux Golf and Country Club outside Reno, Nevada, the tournament moved west in 2020 to Tahoe Mountain Club's Old Greenwood course in nearby Truckee, California.
Flying Blind is a mystery novel by American writer Max Allan Collins that was first published in 1999. The book was part of Collins's ongoing series of novels featuring private detective Nathan Heller.
Elgen Marion Long was a distinguished American aviator, author, and researcher who achieved numerous notable milestones in aviation. Among his impressive accomplishments, Long set fifteen aviation records, including a groundbreaking 1971 flight around the world over both poles, which earned him the FAI Gold Air Medal.
Amelia is a 2009 biographical film about the aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. The film stars Hilary Swank as Earhart, and co-stars Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Joe Anderson. The film was directed by Mira Nair and based on The Sound of Wings by Mary S. Lovell. The film received predominantly negative reviews, with critics polarized over the performances and criticizing the film's story. It was also a box-office bomb, grossing $19.6 million against a budget of $40 million.
Sho William Kashima is an American freestyle skier from El Paso, Texas. Sho currently resides in Park City, Utah. Sho was considered a threat to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in Vancouver, but missed the 2010 Games after suffering a knee injury in January of that year, ending his season.
Andrew "Andy" Wirth is an American businessman and philanthropist who works in the mountain resort and hotel industry. He was most recently the president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, the parent company of Palisades Tahoe and Alpine Meadows ski resorts in Olympic Valley, CA until 2018. He is also the grandson of former US National Park Service Director Conrad Wirth and the great grandson of Theodore Wirth.
Amelia Rose Earhart is an American private pilot and former reporter for NBC affiliate KUSA-TV in Denver, Colorado. In 2013, Earhart started the Fly With Amelia Foundation, which grants flight scholarships to girls aged 16–18.
Sierra Nevada University (SNU) was a private university in Incline Village, Nevada, in the Sierras. It was governed by a seven-member board of trustees who were locally elected. In 2022, it was announced that the school would no longer be independent and would be merged into the University of Nevada, Reno system.
Speculation on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan has continued since their disappearance in 1937. After the largest search and rescue attempt in history up to that time, the U.S. Navy concluded that Earhart and Noonan ditched at sea after their plane ran out of fuel; this "crash and sink theory" is the most widely accepted explanation. However, several alternative hypotheses have been considered.
