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United States Minor Outlying Islands

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United States Minor Outlying Islands is a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code. The entry code is ISO 3166-2:UM. The minor outlying islands and groups of islands consist of eight United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean (Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Atoll) and one in the Caribbean Sea (Navassa Island).

History

In 1936 a colonization program began to settle Americans on Baker, Howland, and Jarvis, but all three islands were evacuated in 1942 as a result of World War II. ISO introduced the term "United States Minor Outlying Islands" in 1986. From 1974 until 1986, five of the islands (Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef) were grouped under the term United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands, with ISO 3166 code PU . The code of Midway Atoll was MI , the code of Johnston Atoll was JT , and the code of Wake Island was WK . Prior to 1986, Navassa Island, along with several small islands in the Caribbean Sea that are no longer under U.S. sovereignty, were grouped under the term United States Miscellaneous Caribbean Islands, with FIPS country code BQ . The populated Stewart Islands, called Sikaiana and now effectively controlled by the Solomon Islands, are not included in official lists of U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. In 1856, the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

Overview

Except for Palmyra Atoll, all of these islands are unincorporated unorganized territories of the United States. As of 2019update, none of the islands has any permanent residents. The Territory of Palmyra Atoll is an incorporated territory, separated in 1959 from the rest of the former incorporated Territory of Hawaii when Hawaii became a state. The only human population consists of temporarily stationed scientific and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel. The 2000 census counted 315 people on Johnston Atoll and 94 people on Wake Atoll. There has been no modern indigenous population, except at the 1940 census. The islands are grouped together as a statistical convenience. They are not administered collectively, nor do they share a single cultural or political history beyond being uninhabited islands under the sovereignty of the United States. They are all outside of the customs territory of the United States and have no customs duties. Except for Midway Atoll, the Pacific island...

Transportation

Airports edit Airports in the United States minor outlying islands provide critical emergency landing points across the vast Pacific Ocean for all types of aircraft, allow for important military presence in key strategic zones, and have limited scheduled commercial services. The following is a list of island airports with ICAO (IATA) codes: PMDY (MDY): Henderson Field, Sand Island, Midway Atoll PWAK (AWK): Wake Island Airfield, Wake Atoll PLPA: Palmyra (Cooper) Airport, Cooper Island, Palmyra Atoll Other airports include: Kamakaiwi Field: Howland Island (from 1937 to about 1945) Kingman Reef: The lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and American Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938. Johnston Atoll Airport, Johnston Atoll (Formerly PJON/JON): The airport was built during WWII, and saw significant commercial traffic during the second half of the 20th century. However, it was abandoned in 2003. Seaports edit Three of the islands are listed wit...

Islands and atolls

Atoll or island Island area (km2) Lagoon (km2) Coordinates NWR established Acquired FIPS CodeF GECG North Pacific Ocean, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Midway Atoll 6.2 40 28°13′N 177°22′W  /  28.217°N 177.367°W  / 28.217; -177.367  ( Midway Atoll ) 1988 April 22 1867 August 28 74300 MQ North Pacific Ocean, scattered isolated islands Wake IslandA 6.5 6 19°18′N 166°38′E  /  19.300°N 166.633°E  / 19.300; 166.633  ( Wake Island ) 2009 January 16 1899 January 17 74450 WQ Johnston AtollB 2.63 130 16°45′N 169°31′W  /  16.750°N 169.517°W  / 16.750; -169.517  ( Johnston Atoll ) 1926 June 29 1859 September 6 74200 JQ North Pacific Ocean, Northern Line Islands Kingman Reef 0.03 76 6°24′N 162°24′W  /  6.400°N 162.400°W  / 6.400; -162.400  ( Kingman Reef ) 2001 January 18 1860 February 8 74250 KQ Palmyra AtollB 11.9 15 5°53′N 162°05′W  /  5.883°N 162.083°W  / 5.883; -162.083  ( Palmyra Atoll ) 2001 January 18...

Flora and fauna

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This section needs expansion . You can help by adding to it. ( August 2019 ) List of birds of the United States Minor Outlying Islands List of mammals of the United States Minor Outlying Islands