HOWLAND ISLAND                                                                  
(territory of the US)                                                           
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                                                          
                                                                                
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                                                                   
                                                                                
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                                                                      
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                                                 
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: no economic activity                                                  
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
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                               
                                                                                
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along               
the middle of the west coast                                                    
                                                                                
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                                                                  
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually                 
by the US Coast Guard                                                           
                                                                                
