2015 Edition
CIA World Factbook 2015 Archive (Wayback Machine ZIP)
Introduction
Background
Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston Island and Sand Island were designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll in 1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. Cleanup and closure of the weapons facility ended in May 2005.
Geography
Area
- land
- 2.63 sq km
- total
- 2.63 sq km
- water
- 0 sq km
Area - comparative
about 4.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Climate
tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline
34 km
Elevation extremes
- highest point
- Summit Peak 5 m
- lowest point
- Pacific Ocean 0 m
Environment - current issues
no natural fresh water resources
Geographic coordinates
16 45 N, 169 31 W
Geography - note
strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands, which have been expanded by coral dredging; North Island (Akau) and East Island (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging; the egg-shaped reef is 34 km in circumference; closed to the public; a former US nuclear weapons test site; site of now-closed Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS); most facilities dismantled and cleanup complete in 2004; some low-growing vegetation
Irrigated land
0 sq km (2011)
Land boundaries
0 km
Location
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nm (1328 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands
Map references
Oceania
Maritime claims
- exclusive economic zone
- 200 nm
- territorial sea
- 12 nm
Natural hazards
NA
Natural resources
guano deposits (worked until about 1890), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
Terrain
mostly flat
People and Society
Population
- uninhabited
- note
- in previous years, there was an average of 1,100 US military and civilian contractor personnel present; as of September 2001, population had decreased significantly when US Army Chemical Activity Pacific (USACAP) departed; as of May 2005 all US Government personnel had left the island
Government
Country name
- conventional long form
- none
- conventional short form
- Johnston Atoll
Dependency status
unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Honolulu, Hawaii, by Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
Flag description
the flag of the US is used
Legal system
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
Transportation
Airports - with paved runways
- 2,438 to 3,047 m
- 1 (2013)
- total
- 1
Ports and terminals
Johnston Island
Military and Security
Military - note
defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international
none