BAKER ISLAND
(territory of the US)
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 1.4 km2; land area: 1.4 km2
Comparative area: about 2.3 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 4.8 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth);
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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%
Environment: treeless, sparse and scattered vegetation consisting
of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; lacks fresh water;
primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,
shorebirds, and marine wildlife
Note: remote location 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu in the North
Pacific Ocean, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii
and Australia
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 located near the middle of the west coast
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: none
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
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
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by
the US Coast Guard
