HOWLAND ISLAND
(territory of the US)
GEOGRAPHY
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: none
Coastline: 6.4 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-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%
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
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
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
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
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along
the middle of the west coast
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
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually
by the US Coast Guard
