Howland Island

Howland Island

Howland Island seen from space in April 2007
Howland Island Location of Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean
Geography
Location	North Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	0°48′25.84″N 176°36′59.48″W / 0.8071778°N 176.6165222°W / 0.8071778; -176.6165222
Archipelago	Phoenix Islands
Area	2.6 km2 (1.0 sq mi)[1]
Length	2.25 km (1.398 mi)
Width	0.89 km (0.553 mi)
Coastline	6.4 km (3.98 mi)
Highest elevation	3 m (10 ft)
Administration
United States
Status	Unincorporated (United States Minor Outlying Islands)
Demographics
Population	0
Additional information
Time zone	International Date Line West (UTC−12:00)
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
Designated	1974

Howland Island (/ˈhaʊlənd/) is an uninhabited coral island located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about 1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km) southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States. Together with Baker Island it forms part of the Phoenix Islands. For statistical purposes, Howland is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands.^[2] The island has an elongated cucumber-shape on a north–south axis, 1.40 by 0.55 miles (2.25 km × 0.89 km), and covers 1 square mile (640 acres; 2.6 km²).^[1]

Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge consists of the entire island and the surrounding 32,074 acres (129.80 km²) of submerged land. The island is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an insular area under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

The atoll currently has no economic activity. It is managed as a nature reserve. It is best known as the island Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were searching for but failed to find when they and their airplane disappeared on July 2, 1937, during their planned round-the-world flight. Airstrips constructed to accommodate her planned stopover were subsequently damaged in World War II, not maintained, and gradually disappeared. There are no harbors or docks. The fringing reefs may pose a maritime hazard. There is a boat landing area along the middle of the sandy beach on the west coast, as well as a crumbling day beacon. The island is visited every two years by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.^[3] It was mined for guano in the 19th century, and in the 1930s it was colonized by the American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project. In modern times, it is a nature reserve, and there are some historical remains from the colony and a stone tower called Earhart Light.