U.S. Possessions

Overview

Introduction

Several remote islands neighboring Kiribati remain in U.S. hands, and hotly debated proposals would make them all part of the state of Hawaii. Palmyra Atoll, in the Line Islands group, is an uninhabited island that was used as an air base during World War II. The island is owned by the Fullard-Leo family of Hawaii, but is administered by the U.S. Department of Interior. Kingman Reef lies northwest of Palmyra Atoll. The three small, uninhabited islands of the reef are under the control of the U.S. Navy and are not open to the public—even if they were, the maximum elevation of 3 ft/1 m allows no vegetation and little land area. Kingman was used for a brief time in the 1930s as an airport for Pan American Airways flights between Samoa and Hawaii. Jarvis Island, which lies on the equator in the Line Islands group, is also uninhabited, but is occasionally visited by scientists. The researchers study the large population of seabirds and feral cats. Jarvis is a National Wildlife Refuge operated by the U.S. government. Baker Island and Howland Island, 1,600 mi/2,575 km southwest of Hawaii, are also operated as bird and marine wildlife sanctuaries by the Fish and Wildlife Service. About 1,550 mi/2,500 km east of Tarawa.

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