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- @node Header (Howland Island)
- @section Header (Howland Island)
-
- @display
-
- Affiliation:
- (territory of the US)
-
-
-
- @end display
-
- @node Geography (Howland Island)
- @section Geography (Howland Island)
-
- @display
-
- Location:
- 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 km2
- land area:
- 1.6 km2
- 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 or the 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 km2
- Environment:
- almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and low-growing
- shrubs; small area of trees in the center; lacks fresh water; primarily a
- nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine
- wildlife; feral cats
-
-
-
- @end display
-
- @node People (Howland Island)
- @section People (Howland Island)
-
- @display
-
- 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
-
-
-
- @end display
-
- @node Government (Howland Island)
- @section Government (Howland Island)
-
- @display
-
- Names:
- conventional long form:
- none
- conventional short form:
- Howland Island
- 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
-
-
-
- @end display
-
- @node Economy (Howland Island)
- @section Economy (Howland Island)
-
- @display
-
- Overview:
- no economic activity
-
-
-
- @end display
-
- @node Communications (Howland Island)
- @section Communications (Howland Island)
-
- @display
-
- 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
-
-
-
- @end display
-
- @node Defense Forces (Howland Island)
- @section Defense Forces (Howland Island)
-
- @display
-
- defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast
- Guard
-
-
-
- @end display
-