1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Affiliation
(territory of the US)
Airports
total: 1 usable: 1 with permanent-surface runways: 1 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1
Area
total area: 11.9 sq km land area: 11.9 sq km comparative area: about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Capital
none; administered from Washington, DC
Climate
equatorial, hot, and very rainy
Coastline
14.5 km
Digraph
LQ
Environment
current issues: NA 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: 100% other: 0%
Location
Oceania, Polynesia, in the North Pacific Ocean, 1,600 km south-southwest of Honolulu, almost halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa
Map references
Oceania
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 12 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: Palmyra Atoll
Natural resources
none
Note
- about 50 islets covered with dense vegetation, coconut trees, and balsa-like trees up to 30 meters tall
- defense is the responsibility of the US
Overview
no economic activity
Population
uninhabited
Ports
the main harbor is West Lagoon, which is entered by a channel on the southwest side of the atoll; both the channel and harbor will accommodate vessels drawing 6 meters of water; much of the road and many causeways built during the war are unserviceable and overgrown
Terrain
low, with maximum elevations of about 2 meters
Type
incorporated territory of the US; privately owned, but administered by the Office of Territorial and International Affairs, US Department of the Interior