home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Wayzata World Factbook 1995
/
World Factbook - 1995 Edition - Wayzata Technology (1995).iso
/
mac
/
text
/
Build
/
CIATXTpc
/
HOWLAND_.TXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-11-29
|
3KB
|
149 lines
Howland Island
Header
Affiliation:
(territory of the US)
Geography
Location:
Oceania, Polynesia, in the North Pacific Ocean, 2,575 km southwest of
Honolulu, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and
Australia
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total area:
1.6 sq km
land area:
1.6 sq km
comparative area:
about 2.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
6.4 km
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
International disputes:
none
Climate:
equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain:
low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow
fringing reef; depressed central area
Natural resources:
guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)
Land use:
arable land:
0%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
5%
other:
95%
Irrigated land:
0 sq km
Environment:
current issues:
lacks freshwater
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
NA
Note:
almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and low-growing
shrubs; small area of trees in the center; primarily a nesting,
roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine
wildlife; feral cats
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
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Digraph:
HQ
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:
airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on the
round-the-world flight of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan - they left
Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen again; the
airstrip is no longer serviceable
Note:
Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast that
was partially destroyed during World War II, but has since been
rebuilt in memory of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart
Defense Forces
defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US
Coast Guard