Johnston Atoll is an unincorporated territory of the United States, under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). The island is closed to public entry, and limited access for management needs is only granted by letter of authorization from the USAF. A special use permit is also required from the USFWS to access the island by boat or enter the waters surrounding the island, which are designated as a National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. The Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge extends from the shore out to 12 nautical miles, continuing as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System out to 200 nautical miles. The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument extends from the shore out to 200 nautical miles.
Midway Atoll is a 2.4 sq mi (6.2 km2) atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housing and an airstrip. Immediately to the east of Sand Island across the narrow Brooks Channel is Eastern Island, which is uninhabited and no longer has any facilities. Forming a rough, incomplete circle around the two main islands and creating Midway Lagoon is Spit Island, a narrow reef.
Palmyra Atoll, also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Northern Line Islands. It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii and American Samoa. North America is about 3,300 miles northeast and New Zealand the same distance southwest, placing the atoll at the approximate center of the Pacific Ocean. The land area is 4.6 sq mi (12 km2), with about 9 miles (14 km) of sea-facing coastline and reef. There is one boat anchorage, known as West Lagoon, accessible from the sea by a narrow artificial channel and an old airstrip; during WW2 it was turned into Naval Air Station for several years and used for training and refueling. It was shelled by a submarine in December 1941, but was not the site of a major battle.
Wake Island is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets and a reef surrounding a lagoon. The nearest inhabited island is Utirik Atoll in the Marshall Islands, located 592 miles to the southeast. The United States administers Wake Island as an unorganized and unincorporated territory, and it is one of the nine insular areas that comprise the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The Marshall Islands also claim Wake Island.
An atoll is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean.
Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying southeast of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 km (700 mi) southwest of the capital, Victoria on Mahé Island. Initially named by Arab seafarers for its harsh environment, Aldabra became a French colony dependency in the 18th century, leading to the exploitation of its natural resources, particularly giant tortoises. After passing through British hands, Aldabra faced potential military use in the 1960s, but international protests resulted in its protection. The atoll boasts unique geography, featuring the world's largest raised coral reef and a large shallow lagoon. Aldabra's history involves human impact, including failed agricultural ventures. Post-World War II, conservation efforts increased, leading to its inclusion in the British Indian Ocean Territory and eventual independence for Seychelles. Following an international protest by scientists known as the 'Aldabra Affair,' the Royal Society of London and later the Seychelles Islands Foundation conducted research, leading to Aldabra's declaration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. The atoll's flora and fauna, notably the giant tortoises, comprise an 'ecological wonder', with Aldabra serving as a critical breeding ground for various species. Conservation challenges, such as invasive species and plastic pollution, persist, but protective measures, including UNESCO designation, underscore Aldabra's significance as a natural vital scientific research site. Aldabra receives limited tourism to safeguard its delicate ecosystem and is accessible primarily through guided tours.
Titian Ramsay Peale was an American artist, naturalist, and explorer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a scientific illustrator whose paintings and drawings of wildlife are known for their beauty and accuracy.
Nihoa, also known as Bird Island or Moku Manu, is the tallest of ten islands and atolls in the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). The island is located at the southern end of the NWHI chain, 296 km (160 nmi) southeast of Necker Island. Nihoa is the closest NWHI in proximity to the eight main windward Hawaiian Islands at approximately 240 km (130 nmi) northwest of the island of Kauaʻi. The island has two peaks, 272 m (892 ft) Miller's Peak in the west, and 259 m (850 ft) Tanager Peak in the east. Nihoa's area is about 171 acres (0.69 km2) and is surrounded by a 142,000-acre (57,000 ha) coral reef. Its jagged outline gives the island its name, Nīhoa, which is Hawaiian for "toothed, serrated".
The French Frigate Shoals is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals. It consists of a 20-mile-long (32 km) crescent-shaped reef, twelve sandbars, and the 120-foot-high (37 m) La Pèrouse Pinnacle, the only remnant of its volcanic origins. The total land area of the islets is 61.508 acres (24.891 ha), while the total coral reef area of the shoals is over 232,000 acres (94,000 ha). Tern Island, with an area of 26.014 acres (10.527 ha), has a landing strip and permanent habitations for a small number of people. It is maintained as a field station in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The French Frigate Shoals are about 487 nautical miles northwest of Honolulu. Among the shoals are Tern, which is unique in having an airstrip and is protected by a seawall, and La Perouse Pinnacle, a tall and rocky island in the center of the shoals. The two largest islands after Tern, East and Trig have mostly washed away, with East being about half the size from storms, but are famed as breeding grounds for turtles. East was also home to Coast Guard base in the late 20th century. The islands are surrounded by a coral reef, and the islands themselves are noted breeding ground for turtles, seals, and birds. Habitation is difficult with little vegetation and no fresh water. In the 20th century the French Frigate Shoals are also called Lalo as part of the marine nature reserve, and along with other islands are visited periodically for research. The highest point in the shoals is on La Perouse Pinnacle which is a volcanic rock that rises 122 ft (37 m) above the surrounding lagoon.
Bokak Atoll or Taongi Atoll is an uninhabited coral atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands, in the North Pacific Ocean. Due to its relative isolation from the main islands in the group, Bokak's flora and fauna has been able to exist in a pristine condition.
Ahe, Ahemaru or Omaru, is a coral atoll in the northern Tuamotu Archipelago, 14 km to the west of Manihi, in French Polynesia. Its ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon. It has a land area of approximately 12 km2 and a lagoon area of 138 km2. As of 2012, Ahe Atoll had 553 inhabitants. The only village in Ahe is Tenukupara with approximately 100 inhabitants. It is located on an island in the south side of the Atoll.
The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island. The assault began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor naval and air bases in Hawaii on the morning of 8 December 1941, and ended on 23 December, with the surrender of American forces to the Empire of Japan. It was fought on and around the atoll formed by Wake Island and its minor islets of Peale and Wilkes Islands by the air, land, and naval forces of the Japanese Empire against those of the United States, with Marines playing a prominent role on both sides.
Rose Atoll, sometimes called Rose Island or Motu O Manu by people of the Manu'a Islands, is an oceanic atoll within the U.S. territory of American Samoa. An uninhabited wildlife refuge, it is the southernmost point belonging to the United States. The land area is just 0.05 km2 at high tide. The total area of the atoll, including lagoon and reef flat amounts to 6.33 km2. Just west of the northernmost point is a channel into the lagoon, about 80 m wide. There are two islets on the northeastern rim of the reef, larger Rose Island in the east and the non-vegetated Sand Island in the north. The Rose Atoll Marine National Monument that lies on the two outstanding islands of the Atoll is managed cooperatively between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the government of American Samoa.
Bikar Atoll is an uninhabited atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is one of the smallest atolls in the Marshalls. Due to its relative isolation from the main islands in the group, Bikar's flora and fauna has been able to exist in a relatively pristine condition.
The extinct Wake Island rail was a flightless rail and the only native land bird on the Pacific atoll of Wake. It was found on the islands of Wake and Wilkes, and Peale, which is separated from the others by a channel of about 100 meters. It was hunted to extinction during World War II.
Orona atoll, also known as Hull Island, is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. It measures approximately 8.8 km (5 mi) by 4 km (2 mi), and like Kanton, is a narrow ribbon of land surrounding a sizable lagoon with depths of 15–20 metres (49–66 ft). Numerous passages connect the lagoon to the surrounding ocean, only a couple of which will admit even a small boat. Total land area is 3.9 km2 (2 sq mi), and the maximum elevation is nine metres.
The TanagerExpedition was a series of five biological surveys of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands conducted in partnership between the Bureau of Biological Survey and the Bishop Museum, with the assistance of the United States Navy. Four expeditions occurred from April to August 1923, and a fifth in July 1924. Led by Lieutenant Commander Samuel Wilder King on the minesweeper USS Tanager (AM-5), and Alexander Wetmore directing the team of scientists, the expedition studied the plant animal life, and geology of the central Pacific islands. Noted members of the team include archaeologist Kenneth Emory and herpetologist Chapman Grant.
Tikehau or Porutu-kai is a coral atoll in the Palliser Islands group, part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is included in the commune of Rangiroa.
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is located in the Republic of Kiribati, an ocean nation in the central Pacific approximately midway between Australia and Hawaii. PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and with a size of 408,250 km2 (157,630 sq mi), it is one of the largest marine protected areas (MPA) and one of the largest protected areas of any type on Earth. The PIPA was also designated as the world's largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.
Peale Island is one of three islands in the Wake Island atoll, which lies in the Pacific Ocean between Guam and Midway. The atoll was from 1935 the site of a seaplane base and a hotel built by Pan-American, who started the first transpacific passenger service using a string of islands across the Pacific to fly between America and Asia in stages. The island, like the rest of Wake, is made of coral fragments and sand, atop a seamount, and ringed by a living coral reef. The island is heavily forested with tropical scrub, trees, and grasses and is inhabited mainly by birds, rats, and hermit crabs. In the late 20th century, it was the site of a United States Coast Guard Loran Station, supporting radio navigation prior to satellite systems. The island is home to many historical items, including the Pan-American Hotel and remnants of World War II, such as bunkers and a rusted 8-inch coastal defense gun.
