1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 4.5 km2 land area: 4.5 km2 comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of the Mall in Washington, DC
Climate
tropical; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Coastline
8 km
Environment
sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; lacks fresh water; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
0 km2
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Location
in the South Pacific Ocean, 2,090 km south of Honolulu, just south of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands
Map references
Oceania
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 m or depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)
Terrain
sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
People and Society
Population
uninhabited; note - Millersville settlement on western side of island occasionally used as a weather station from 1935 until World War II, when it was abandoned; reoccupied in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year by scientists who left in 1958; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators
Government
Capital
none; administered from Washington, DC
Digraph
DQ
Names
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jarvis Island
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
Economy
Overview
no economic activity
Communications
Note
there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast
Ports
none; offshore anchorage only - one boat landing area in the middle of the west coast and another near the southwest corner of the island