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 Match 110   DB Rec# - 7,562  Dataset-WOFACT

Title         :Howland Island 
Text          : 
                                 Howland Island 
 
                                     Header 
 
Affiliation: 
    (territory of the US) 
 
                                    Geography 
 
Location: 
    Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from 
    Hawaii to Australia 
Map references: 
    Oceania 
Area: 
  total area: 
    1.6 sq km 
  land area: 
    1.6 sq km 
  comparative area: 
    about 2.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC 
Land boundaries: 
    0 km 
Coastline: 
    6.4 km 
Maritime claims: 
  exclusive economic zone: 
    200 nm 


  territorial sea: 
    12 nm 
International disputes: 
    none 
Climate: 
    equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun 
Terrain: 
    low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing
 
    reef; depressed central area 
Natural resources: 
    guano (deposits worked until late 1800s) 
Land use: 
  arable land: 
    0% 
  permanent crops: 
    0% 
  meadows and pastures: 
    0% 
  forest and woodland: 
    5% 
  other: 
    95% 
Irrigated land: 
    0 sq 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 
Note: 
    almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and low-growing 
    shrubs; small area of trees in the center; primarily a nesting, roosting, 
    and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral 
    cats 
 
                                     People 
 
Population: 
    uninhabited; note - American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air 
    and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World 
    War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit 
    only and generally restricted to scientists and educators 
 
                                   Government 
 
Names: 
  conventional long form: 
    none 
  conventional short form: 
    Howland Island 
Digraph: 
    HQ 
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 
Capital: 


    none; administered from Washington, DC 
 
                                     Economy 
 
Overview: 
    no economic activity 
 
                                 Transportation 
 
Ports: 
    none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat landing area along 
    the middle of the west coast 
Airports: 
    airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on the 
    round-the-world flight of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan - they left Lae, 
    New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen again; the airstrip is 
    no longer serviceable 
Note: 
    Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast that was 
    partially destroyed during World War II, but has since been rebuilt in 
    memory of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart 
 
                                 Defense Forces 
 
    defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast 
    Guard 

This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).

The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995

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Updated: March 12, 1996