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Midway Atoll (also known as Midway Island or Midway Islands) is a 6.2 square kilometer atoll located in the North Pacific Ocean (near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago) at 28°13' N, 177°22' W, about one-third of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo. It is less than 150 miles east of the International Date Line and is about 2,800 miles west of San Francisco and 2,200 miles east of Japan. It consists of a ring-shaped barrier reef and several sand islets. The two significant pieces of land, Sand Island and Eastern Island, provide habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds.The atoll, which has no indigenous inhabitants, is an unincorporated territory of the United States, designated an insular area under the authority of the US Department of the Interior. It is a National Wildlife Refuge administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The visitor program closed in January 2002 and there are no facilities at the present time for receiving visitors. However, visitors able to provide their own transportation can contact the refuge manager for information about visiting the atoll. The economy is derived solely from governmental sources . All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Midway lies nearly halfway between North AmericaNorth America is the third largest continent in area and the fourth ranked in population. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocea and AsiaThe continent of Asia is defined by subtracting Europe and Africa from the great land mass of Africa-Eurasia. The boundaries are vague, especially between Asia and Europe: Asia and Africa meet somewhere near the Suez Canal. The boundary between Asia and E. It also lies almost halfway around the earth from Greenwich, England.
Midway is best known as the location of the Battle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway fought in World War II, took place on June 5, 1942 ( June 4 in US time zones). The United States Navy defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Atoll, marking a turning point in the war in the Pacific theatre. Fought just a month afte, fought in World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough on June 4June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. Events 780 BC The first historic solar eclipse is recorded in China. 1039 Henry II becomes King of Germany. 1615 Forces under the shogun Tokugawa, 1942Events January January 1 World War II: The word " United Nations" is first officially used to describe the Allied pact. January 2 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces. January 5 Amy Johnson disappears in flight over River Thames estuary ass. The nearby United States NavyThe United States Navy USN is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. Navy consists of slightly fewer than 300 ships and over 4,000 operational aircraft. It has over a half million men and women on active or ready re defeated a Japanese attack against the "Midway Islands", marking a turning point in the war in the Pacific theatre.
1 Geography
Midway Atoll is part of a chain of volcanic islands, atolls, and seamounts extending from Hawai'i up to the tip of the Aleutian Islands and known as the Hawaii-Emperor chain. Midway was formed roughly 28 million years ago when the seabed underneath it was over the same hot spot from which the Island of Hawai'i is now being formed. In fact, Midway was once a shield volcano perhaps as large as the island of Lana'i. Over millions of years, the island subsided by a process known as isostatic adjustment. A coral reef around the former volcanic island was able to maintain itself close to sea level by growing upwards as the whole subsided. That reef is now over 400 m thick. What remains is a shallow water atoll about 10 kilometers across.
The islands of Midway Atoll have been extensively altered as a result of human habitation. Starting in 1869 with a project to blast the reefs and create a port on Sand Island, the ecology of Midway has been changing. Birds native to other NWHI islands, such as the Laysan Rail and Laysan Finch , were released at Midway. Ironwood trees from Australia were planted to act as windbreaks. Seventy-five percent of the 200 species of plants on Midway are introduced. The FWS has recently continued this trend by introducing the Laysan duck to the island, while, at the same time, extending efforts to exterminate other introduced species.
The atoll has some 32 kilometers of roads, 7.8 kilometers of pipelines, one port (on Sand Island, which is closed to public use), and two runways (both paved, around 2000 meters long). As of 2004, the airfield at Midway Atoll has been designated as an emergency diversion airport for aircraft flying under ETOPS rules. The FWS plans to close all airport operations on November 22, 2004. After that time, no public visitation at all will be allowed.
