The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include Palmyra Atoll, which is now part privately owned by the Nature Conservancy and part US Government-owned and administered as a nature preserve. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12-nautical-mile US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and were designated a National Wildlife Refuge in January 2001.
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa
5 52 N, 162 04 W
Oceania
total: 11.9 sq km
land: 11.9 sq km
water: 0 sq km
about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
0 km
14.5 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
equatorial, hot, and very rainy
very low
terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
NA
NA
about 50 islets covered with dense vegetation, coconut trees, and balsa-like trees up to 30 meters tall
no indigenous inhabitants
note: variable temporary population of 4 to 20 staff and scientists of the Nature Conservancy and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (July 2014 est.)
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Palmyra Atoll
etymology: named for the USS Palmyra, which was shipwrecked on the reef in 1802
incorporated territory of the US; privately owned, but administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior; the Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of the Interior continues to administer nine excluded areas comprising certain tidal and submerged lands within the 12 nm territorial sea or within the lagoon
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
the flag of the US is used
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013)
West Lagoon
defense is the responsibility of the US
none
