:Howland Island Geography

Total area:
    1.6 km2
Land area:
    1.6 km2
Comparative area:
    about 2.7 times the size of the Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
    none
Coastline:
    6.4 km
Maritime claims:
  Contiguous zone:
    12 nm
  Continental shelf:
    200 m (depth)
  Exclusive economic zone:
    200 nm
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
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%
Environment:
    almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and low-growing
    shrubs; small area of trees in the center; lacks fresh water; primarily a
    nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine
    wildlife; feral cats
Note:
    remote location 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific Ocean,
    just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia

:Howland Island People

Population:
    uninhabited
Population:
  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

:Howland Island Government

Long-form name:
    none
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

:Howland Island Economy

Overview:
    no economic activity

:Howland Island Communications

Ports:
    none; offshore anchorage only, 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

:Howland Island Defense Forces

Note:
    defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast
    Guard