1994 Edition

Affiliation

(territory of the US)

Airports

airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on the round-the-world flight of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan - they left Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen again; the airstrip is no longer serviceable

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

Capital

none; administered from Washington, DC

Climate

equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Coastline

6.4 km

Digraph

HQ

Environment

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

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

0 sq km

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

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

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

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

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Howland Island

Natural resources

guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

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

Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast that was partially destroyed during World War II, but has since been rebuilt in memory of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart

Overview

no economic activity

Population

uninhabited; note - American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators

Ports

none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along the middle of the west coast

Terrain

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

Type

unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System