1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Affiliation
(territory of the US)
Area
total area: 4.5 sq km land area: 4.5 sq km comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of the Mall in Washington, DC
Capital
none; administered from Washington, DC
Climate
tropical; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Coastline
8 km
Digraph
DQ
Environment
current issues: lacks fresh water 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: 0% other: 100%
Location
Oceania, Polynesia, 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 depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Names
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jarvis Island
Natural resources
guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)
Note
- sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats
- there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast
Overview
no economic activity
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
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
Terrain
sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
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