1BluePlanet Johnston Atoll

Notice: SSI.php was unable to load a session! This may cause problems with logout and other functions - please make sure SSI.php is included before *anything* else in all your scripts! in /home/blurwqr/public_html/community/SSI.php on line 158
1BluePlanet Johnston Atoll

johnston atoll

Print this pages	Email to a friend	Add to Favorites

Introduction: JOHNSTON ATOLL

Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston and Sand Islands were designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll in 1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. Munitions destruction is now complete. Cleanup and closure of the facility is progressing, with completion anticipated in 2004.

GEOGRAPHY
Country name:	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Johnston Atoll
Capital:
Location:	Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nm (1328 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands
Geographic Coordinates:	16 45 N, 169 31 W
Area:	total: 2.8 sq km land: 2.8 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area Comparative:	about 4.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land Boundaries:	0 km
Coastline:	34 km
Maritime Claims:	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:	tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain:	mostly flat
Elavation Extremes:	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Summit Peak 5 m
Natural Resources:	guano deposits worked until depletion about 1890, terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
GOVERNEMENT
Governement Type:
Administratives Divisions:	unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Honolulu, HI, by Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
Independence
National Holiday:
Constitution:
Legal System;	the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
Suffrage
Executive Branch:
Legislative Branch:
Judicial Branch:
Political parties and Leaders:
PEOPLE
Population:	361 no indigenous inhabitants note: in previous years, there was an average of 1,100 US military and civilian contractor personnel present; as of September 2001, population had decreased significantly when US Army Chemical Activity Pacific (USACAP) departed; as of January 2004 the island population was just above 200 personnel, including US Air Force, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and civilian contractor personnel (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
Median age:
Nationality:
Ethnic groups:
Religions:
Languages:
COMUNICATIONS
Telephones - main lines in use:
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Telephone system:	general assessment: NA domestic: 512 KB satellite link to Hawaii teleport; 20 (POTS) voice and data lines international: NA (2002)
Radio broadcast stations:
Television broadcast stations:
Internet country code:
Internet hosts:
Internet users:
TRANSPORT
Railways:
Highways:
Waterways:
Pipelines:
Ports and harbors:	Johnston Island
Merchant marine:
Airports:	1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:	2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Heliports: