SELECT EDITION
CATEGORIES
◆ ECONOMY(1 fields)
Economy - overview
no economic activity
◆ GEOGRAPHY(17 fields)
Area
total: 11.9 sq km land: 11.9 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative
about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Climate
equatorial, hot, and very rainy
Coastline
14.5 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 2 m
Environment - current issues
NA
Geographic coordinates
5 52 N, 162 06 W
Geography - note
about 50 islets covered with dense vegetation, coconut trees, and balsa-like trees up to 30 meters tall
Irrigated land
0 sq km (1998 est.)
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (forests and woodlands) (2001)
Location
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa
Map references
Oceania
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Natural hazards
NA
Natural resources
terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
Terrain
very low
◆ GOVERNMENT(4 fields)
Country name
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Palmyra Atoll
Dependency status
incorporated territory of the US; privately owned, but administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior; the Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of the Interior continues to administer nine excluded areas comprising certain tidal and submerged lands within the 12 nm territorial sea or within the lagoon
Flag description
the flag of the US is used
Legal system
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
◆ INTRODUCTION(1 fields)
Background
The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include Palmyra Atoll, which is now privately owned by the Nature Conservancy. This organization is managing the atoll as a nature preserve. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12 nautical mile US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and were designated a National Wildlife Refuge in January 2001.
◆ MILITARY(1 fields)
Military - note
defense is the responsibility of the US
◆ PEOPLE(1 fields)
Population
no indigenous inhabitants; 4 to 20 Nature Conservancy staff, US Fish and Wildlife staff (July 2004 est.)
◆ TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES(1 fields)
Disputes - international
none
◆ TRANSPORTATION(4 fields)
Airports
1 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Highways
most of the roads and many causeways built during World War II are unserviceable and overgrown (2001)
Ports and harbors
West Lagoon