SELECT EDITION
CATEGORIES
◆ DEFENSE FORCES(1 fields)
Note
defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard JERSEY (British crown dependency)
◆ ECONOMY(1 fields)
Overview
no economic activity
◆ GEOGRAPHY(14 fields)
Area
total area: 4.5 sq km land area: 4.5 sq km comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Climate
tropical; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Coastline
8 km
Environment
current issues: no natural fresh water resources natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard international agreements: NA
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
0 sq km
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Location
Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to the Cook Islands
Map references
Oceania
Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)
Note
sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats
Terrain
sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
◆ GOVERNMENT(4 fields)
Capital
none; administered from Washington, DC
Digraph
DQ
Names
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jarvis Island
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
◆ PEOPLE(1 fields)
Population
uninhabited; note - Millersville settlement on western side of island occasionally used as a weather station from 1935 until World War II, when it was abandoned; reoccupied in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year by scientists who left in 1958; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators
◆ TRANSPORTATION(2 fields)
Note
there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast
Ports
none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat landing area in the middle of the west coast and another near the southwest corner of the island