BAKER ISLAND                                                                    
(territory of the US)                                                           
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 1.4 km2; land area: 1.4 km2                                         
                                                                                
Comparative area: about 2.3 times the size of The Mall in                       
Washington, DC                                                                  
                                                                                
Land boundaries: none                                                           
                                                                                
Coastline: 4.8 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, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow                  
fringing reef                                                                   
                                                                                
Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until 1891)                           
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures              
0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%                                          
                                                                                
Environment: treeless, sparse and scattered vegetation consisting               
of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; lacks fresh water;         
primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,               
shorebirds, and marine wildlife                                                 
                                                                                
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; a             
cemetery and cemetery ruins located near the middle of the west coast           
                                                                                
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                                                                  
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along               
the middle of the west coast                                                    
Airports: 1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m                            
                                                                                
Note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast                   
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by              
the US Coast Guard                                                              
                                                                                
