Palmyra Atoll

Palmyra Atoll is an uninhabited, 12 km2 (4.6 square miles) atoll in the Northern Pacific Ocean at {{coor dm |5|52|N|162|6|W|}}. Palmyra is one of the Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati Line Islands), located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly halfway between Hawai‘i and American Samoa. Its 14.5 km (9 mi) of coastline has one anchorage known as West Lagoon. It consists of an extensive reef, two shallow lagoons, and some 50 sand and reef-rock islets and bars covered with vegetation—mostly coconut trees, Scaevola, and tall Pisonia trees. Most islets are not separate, but connected. Exceptions are Sand Island in the West and Barren Island in the East. The largest island is Cooper Island in the North, followed by Kaula Island in the South. The northern arch of islets is formed by Strawn Island, Cooper Island, Aviation Island, Quail Island, Whippoorwill Island, followed in the East by Eastern Island, Papala Island, and Pelican Island, and in the South by Bird Island, Holei Island, Engineer island, Marine Island, Kaula Island, Paradise Island and Home Island (clockwise).

Related Topics:
Atoll - Pacific Ocean - Northern Line Islands - Kingman Reef - Kiribati - Hawaiian Islands - Hawai‘i - American Samoa - Reef - Lagoon - Coconut

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Palmyra is an incorporated territory of the United States, meaning that it is subject to all provisions contained in the United States Constitution and is permanently under U.S. sovereignty. It is also an unorganized territory as there is no Congressional act specifying how it should be governed; the only relevant law simply gives the President the discretion to administer the island as he sees fit (see Section 48 of the Hawaii Omnibus Act, Pub. L. 86?624, July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 411, attached as a note to former sections 491 to 636 of Title 48, United States Code http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/48/usc_sup_01_48_10_3notes.html).

Related Topics:
Incorporated territory - United States - United States Constitution - Sovereignty - Unorganized territory - Congressional

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Of course, the issue of Palmyra's governance is a moot point, as there is now no indigenous population nor any reason to think that there will be one in the future. It is therefore currently the only unorganized, incorporated U.S. territory. It is privately owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed as a nature reserve, but administered from Washington, D.C. by the Office of Insular Affairs, United States Department of the Interior. The surrounding waters, out to the 12 mile (22.2 km) limit, were transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and designated as the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2001. Defense is the responsibility of the United States.

Related Topics:
The Nature Conservancy - Washington, D.C. - Office of Insular Affairs - United States Department of the Interior - United States Fish and Wildlife Service - 2001 - United States

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There is no current economic activity on the island. Many roads and causeways were built during World War II but are now unserviceable and overgrown. There is a roughly 2000 m (2200 yd) long, unpaved and unimproved airstrip.

Related Topics:
Island - World War II

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