Baker Island




                                  Header


Affiliation:
     (territory of the US)


                                 Geography


Location:
     Oceania, Micronesia, in the North Pacific Ocean, just north of the
     Equator, 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu, about halfway between Hawaii
     and Australia
Map references:
     Oceania
Area:
total area:
     1.4 sq km
land area:
     1.4 sq km
comparative area:
     about 2.3 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
     0 km
Coastline:
     4.8 km
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
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain:
     low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
Natural resources:
     guano (deposits worked until 1891)
Land use:
arable land:
     0%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     0%
forest and woodland:
     0%
other:
     100%
Irrigated land:
     0 sq km




Environment:
current issues:
     lacks fresh water
natural hazards:
     NA
international agreements:
     NA
Note:
     treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses,
     prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting,
     roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine
     wildlife


                                  People


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; a cemetery and cemetery ruins are located
     near the middle of the west coast


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     none
conventional short form:
Digraph:
     FQ
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
Capital:
     none; administered from Washington, DC


                                  Economy


Overview:
     no economic activity


                              Communications


Ports:
     none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along the middle
     of the west coast
Airports:
     1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m
Note:
     there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast




                              Defense Forces


     defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US
     Coast Guard