Midway Atoll 19250 225747515 2008-07-15T05:40:10Z 78.146.168.150 [[Image:Midway Islands.svg|thumb|right|300px|Midway Atoll is located at {{coor at dm|28|12|N|177|21|W|type:isle_region:UM}}]] [[Image:Orthographic projection centred over midway.png|thumb|300px|[[Orthographic projection (cartography)|Orthographic projection]] centered over Midway.]] '''Midway Atoll''' (or '''Midway Island''' or '''Islands'''; [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]: ''Pihemanu'') is a 2.4 square mile (6.2 [[square kilometer|km²]]) [[atoll]] located in the North Pacific Ocean (near the northwestern end of the [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawaiian archipelago]]), about one-third of the way between [[Honolulu]] and [[Tokyo]]. The Midway Atoll is owned by the USA. It is less than {{convert|140|nmi|km mi|0|lk=on}} east of the [[International Date Line]], about {{convert|2800|nmi|km mi|-2}} west of [[San Francisco]] and {{convert|2200|nmi|km mi|-2}} east of [[Tokyo]]. It consists of a ring-shaped barrier [[reef]] and several sand [[islet]]s. The two significant pieces of land, Sand Island and Eastern Island, provide habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds. Island sizes are: {| class="wikitable" align="center" |- ! [[Island]] ! [[acre]]s ! [[hectare]]s |-style="background: #FFF;" | Sand Island | align="right"|1,200 | align="right"|486 |-style="background: #FFF;" | Eastern Island | align="right"|334 | align="right"|135 |-style="background: #FFF;" | Spit Island | align="right"|6 | align="right"|2 |-style="background: #FFF;" | Sand Islet | colspan=9| |- style="background: #DDD;" | '''Midway Atoll''' | align="right"|1,540 | align="right"|623 |- style="background: #CFF;" | [[Lagoon]] | align="right"|14,800 | align="right"|6,000 |} According to other sources, Sand Island measures {{convert|1250|acre|km2}} in area and the [[lagoon]] within the fringing rim of coral reef {{convert|9900|acre|km2|lk=on}}. The atoll, which has a small population (40 in 2004, but no indigenous inhabitants), is an [[unincorporated territory]] of the [[United States]], designated an ''[[insular area]]'' under the authority of the [[United States Department of the Interior|U.S. Department of the Interior]]. It is a [[National Wildlife Refuge]] administered by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] (FWS). The visitor program closed in January 2002 and there are no facilities at the present time for receiving visitors. However, visitors who are able to provide their own transportation can contact the refuge manager for information on visiting the atoll. The economy is derived solely from governmental sources. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. Midway, as its name suggests, lies nearly halfway between [[North America]] and [[Asia]]. Midway is best known as the location of the [[Battle of Midway]], fought in [[World War II]] on [[June 4]], [[1942]]. Nearby, the [[United States Navy]] defeated a [[Japan]]ese attack against the Midway Islands, marking a turning point in the war in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific Theater]]. For statistical purposes, Midway is grouped as one of the [[United States Minor Outlying Islands]]. == Geography and geology == [[Image:MidwayISS008-E-17094.PNG|thumb|right|300px|[[NASA]] image of Midway Atoll.]] Midway Atoll is part of a chain of volcanic islands, [[atolls]], and [[seamount]]s extending from [[Hawaii (island)|Hawai'i]] up to the tip of the [[Aleutian Islands]] and known as the [[Emperor Seamounts|Hawaii-Emperor chain]]. Midway was formed roughly 28 million years ago when the seabed underneath it was over the same [[Hotspot (geology)|hotspot]] from which the [[Hawaii (island)|Island of Hawai'i]] is now being formed. In fact, Midway was once a [[shield volcano]] perhaps as large as the island of [[Lanai|Lana'i]]. As the volcano piled up lava flows building up the island, the load of it depressed the crust and the island slowly subsided over a period of millions of years, a process known as [[isostasy|isostatic adjustment]]. As the island mass subsided, a [[coral reef]] around the former volcanic island was able to maintain itself near sea level by growing upwards. That reef is now over 516&nbsp;feet (160&nbsp;m) thick (Ladd, Tracey, & Gross, 1967; in the lagoon, {{convert|1261|ft|m|abbr=on}}, comprised mostly post-[[Miocene]] limestones with a layer of upper Miocene (Tertiary ''g'') sediments and lower Miocene (Tertiary ''e'') limestones at the bottom overlying the basalts. What remains today is a shallow water atoll about 6&nbsp;miles (10&nbsp;km) 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 [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]], such as the [[Laysan Rail]] and [[Laysan Finch]], were released at Midway. [[Casuarinaceae|Ironwood]] trees from [[Australia]] were planted to act as windbreaks. Seventy-five percent of the 200 species of plants on Midway were 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 20&nbsp;miles (32 [[kilometer|km]]) of roads, 4.8&nbsp;miles (7.8&nbsp;km) of pipelines, one port (on Sand Island), and one active runway (rwy 06/24, around {{convert|8000|ft|m|abbr=on}} long). As of 2004, [[Henderson Field (Midway Atoll)|Henderson Field]] airfield at Midway Atoll has been designated as an emergency diversion airport for aircraft flying under [[ETOPS/LROPS|ETOPS]] rules. The FWS closed all airport operations on [[November 22]], [[2004]]. Public access to the island was restored beginning March 2008.<ref name=fws011508>{{cite web | url=http://www.fws.gov/midway/MidwayOSnr011508.pdf | title=Midway Atoll Program to Reopen in March | date=January 11, 2008 | work=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] | accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref> Uniquely among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes [[UTC-11]], eleven hours behind [[Coordinated Universal Time]]. ==Transport== The main way of getting to the only populated island in the Midway Atoll, Sand Island, is by [[Henderson Field Airport]]. == History == ===Nineteenth century=== [[Image:Midway atoll albat.jpg|thumb|left|[[Laysan Albatross]] at Midway Atoll]] The atoll was discovered [[July 5]], [[1859]] by Captain N.C. Middlebrooks, though he was most commonly known as Captain Brooks, of the [[seal hunting]] ship ''Gambia''. The islands were named the "Middlebrook Islands" or the "Brook Islands". Brooks claimed Midway for the United States under the [[Guano Islands Act]] of 1856, which authorized Americans to temporarily occupy uninhabited islands to obtain [[guano]]. On [[August 28]], [[1867]], [[William Reynolds (naval officer)|Captain William Reynolds]] of the [[USS Lackawanna (1862)|USS ''Lackawanna'']] formally took possession of the atoll for the United States; the name changed to "Midway" some time after this. On [[28 August]] [[1867]] the atoll became the first offshore islands annexed by the U.S. government, as the Unincorporated Territory of Midway Island; administered by the U.S. Navy. Midway was the only island in the entire Hawaiian archipelago that was not later part of the [[Hawaii|State of Hawaii]]. The first attempt at "settlement" was in 1871, when the Pacific Mail and Steamship Company started a project of blasting and dredging a ship channel through the reef to the lagoon using money put up by the U.S. Congress. The purpose was to establish a mid-ocean coaling station avoiding the high taxes imposed at ports controlled by the Hawaiians. The project was shortly a complete failure, and the [[USS Saginaw (1859)|USS ''Saginaw'']], evacuating the last of the channel project's work force in October 1871, then ran aground at [[Kure Atoll]], stranding all aboard. (All aboard were rescued with the exception of four out of the five men who drowned in an attempt to sail to Hawaii in an open boat to seek help. The party reached [[Kauai]], but the boat was overturned just offshore and only [[William Halford]] survived and was able to bring help to the stranded). ===Early twentieth century=== [[Image:Midway Atoll.jpg|right|thumb|Midway atoll in November 1941.]] In 1903, workers for the [[Commercial Pacific Cable Company]] took up residence on the island as part of the effort to lay a trans-Pacific telegraph cable. These workers introduced many non-native species to the island, including the [[canary]], [[cycad|cycad palm]], [[Norfolk Island pine]], [[ironwood]], [[coconut]], and various [[deciduous]] trees, along with ants, cockroaches, termites, centipedes, and countless others. Later that year, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] placed the atoll under the control of the U.S. Navy, which on [[20 January]] [[1903]] opened a radio station, in response to complaints from cable company workers about [[Japan]]ese squatters and poachers. In 1904 - 1908 Roosevelt sent 21 [[U.S. Marines]] to stop the wanton destruction of bird life by Japanese poachers, and to keep Midway safe as a U.S. possession, protecting the cable station. In 1935, operations began for the [[China Clipper]], a large flying boat run by [[Pan American Airlines]]. The Clipper island-hopped from [[San Francisco]] to [[China]], providing the fastest and most luxurious route to the Orient and bringing tourists to Midway until 1941. Only the extremely wealthy could afford a Clipper trip, which in the 1930s cost more than three times the annual salary of an average American. With Midway on the route between [[Honolulu]] and [[Wake Island]], the large seaplanes landed in the quiet atoll waters and pulled up to a float offshore. Tourists were loaded onto a small powerboat that whisked them to a pier, where finally they would ride in [[Station wagon#The Woodie Wagon|"woody" wagons]] to the Pan Am Hotel or the "Gooneyville Lodge," named after the ubiquitous "Gooney birds" ([[albatross]]es). ===World War II=== [[Image:Battle of Midway (Japanese air raid).jpg|right|thumb|Burning oil tanks on Sand Island during the Battle of Midway.]] {{main|Battle of Midway}} The location of Midway in the Pacific became important to the military. Midway was a convenient refueling stop on transpacific flights. It also became an important stop for Navy ships. Beginning in 1940, as tensions with the Japanese were rising, Midway was deemed second only to [[Pearl Harbor]] in importance to protecting the U.S. west coast. Airstrips, gun emplacements and a seaplane base quickly materialized on the tiny atoll. The channel was widened, and [[Naval Air Station Midway]] was completed. Architect [[Albert Kahn (architect)|Albert Kahn]] designed the Officer's quarters, the mall and several other hangars and buildings. Midway's importance to the U.S. was brought into focus on [[December 7]], [[1941]] with the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. Six months later, on [[June 4]], [[1942]], a naval battle near Midway resulted in the [[U.S. Navy]] exacting a devastating defeat of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Navy]]. This [[Battle of Midway]] was, by most accounts, the beginning of the end of the Japanese Navy's control of the Pacific Ocean. Midway was also an important submarine base for what was known as the ''[[Silent Service]]''. ===Korean and Vietnam Wars=== From [[August 1]] [[1941]] to 1945 it was occupied by U.S. military forces. In 1950, the Navy decommissioned Naval Air Station Midway, only to re-commission it again to support the [[Korean War]]. Thousands of troops on ships and planes stopped at Midway for refueling and emergency repairs. From 1968 to [[September 10]] [[1993]] Midway Island was a Navy Air Facility. During the [[Cold War]], the U.S. established a secret underwater listening post at Midway in an attempt to track [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] submarines. These sensitive devices could pick up whale songs for miles and the facility remained top-secret until its demolition at the end of the Cold War. [[EC-121 Warning Star#U.S. Navy|"Willy Victor" radar planes]] flew night and day as an extension of the DEW Line ([[Distant Early Warning Line]]), and antenna fields covered the islands. With about 3,500 people living on Sand Island, Midway also supported the U.S. troops during the [[Vietnam War]]. In June 1969, President [[Richard Nixon]] held a secret meeting with [[South Vietnam]]ese President [[Nguyen Van Thieu]] at the Officer-in-Charge house or "Midway House". ===Civilian rule=== [[Image:Flag of the Midway Islands (local).svg|right|thumb|Unofficial flag]] [[Image:Spinner dolphins video.wmv.OGG|200px|[[Spinner Dolphin]]s video taken at [[Midway Atoll]]|left|thumb]] [[Image:Albatross birds at Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument, Midway Atoll, 2007March01.jpg|thumb|Albatross birds at Midway Atoll]] [[Image:White Tern1.jpg|thumb|White Tern (a.k.a. 'Fairy Tern')]] [[Image:Red Tailed Tropic Bird.jpg|thumb|Red-Tailed Tropic Bird]] [[Image:Frigate Birds.jpg|thumb|Frigate Birds]] In 1978, the Navy downgraded Midway from a Naval Air Station to a Naval Air Facility and large numbers of personnel and dependents began leaving the island. With the conflict in Vietnam over, and with the introduction of [[reconnaissance satellite]]s and nuclear submarines, Midway's significance to national security was diminished. The World War II facilities at Sand and Eastern Islands were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on [[May 28]] [[1987]]. Midway was designated an overlay [[National Wildlife Refuge]] on [[April 22]] [[1988]] while still under the primary jurisdiction of the Navy. As part of the [[Base Realignment and Closure]] process, the Navy facility on Midway has been operationally closed since [[September 10]] [[1993]], although the Navy assumed responsibility for cleaning up environmental contamination at Naval Air Facility Midway Island. Beginning [[7 August]] [[1996]], the general public could visit the atoll through study [[ecotourism|ecotours]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9905E1D91039F934A35754C0A960958260 | date=July 7, 1996 | title=Study Tours of Midway Island | work=[[New York Times]] | accessdate=2007-09-16}}</ref> This program ended in 2002,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fws.gov/midway/MrktFeas2005.pdf | title=Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge: Visitor program market analysis and feasibility study | author=Pandion Systems, Inc. | date=April 12, 2005 | work=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] | accessdate=2007-09-16}} (Page 1).</ref> but another visitor program was approved beginning March 2008.<ref name=fws011508 /><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fws.gov/midway/VSP/MidwayVSPindex.html | title=Interim Visitor Services Plan Approved | date=December 8, 2006 | work=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] | accessdate=2007-09-16}}</ref> On [[October 31]] [[1996]], President [[Bill Clinton]] signed Executive Order 13022, which transferred the jurisdiction and control of the atoll to the [[United States Department of the Interior|U.S. Department of the Interior]]. The Fish and Wildlife Service assumed management of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The last contingent of Navy personnel left Midway on [[30 June]] [[1997]], after an ambitious environmental cleanup program was completed. On [[15 June]] [[2006]], President [[George W. Bush]] designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a national monument. The [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument]] encompasses 105,564 square nautical miles<!--source units--> ({{convert|137797|sqmi|km2|0|disp=s|abbr=on}}), and includes 3,910 square nautical miles<!--source units--> ({{convert|5178|sqmi|km2|0|disp=s|abbr=on}}) of coral reef habitat.<ref>http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/faq.html#13</ref> The Monument also includes the [[Hawaiian Island Reservation]] established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1909, the [[Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge]], and the [[Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge]]. In 2007, the Monument's name was changed to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, pronounced PA-pa-ha-NOW-mo-KUH-ah-KAY-uh.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/Name.html | title= Papahānaumokuākea: A Sacred Name, A Sacred Place | accessdate=2008-03-29}}</ref> The National Monument is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in close coordination with the State of Hawaii. Lead paint on the buildings still poses an environmental hazard to the albatross; the cost of stripping the paint is estimated to be $5 million.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6697385 | title=Midway, a Protected Area, Is Also Underfunded | author=Elizabeth Shogren | date=December 29, 2006 | accessdate=2007-09-16}}</ref> ==See also== *[[The Wrecker (novel)|The Wrecker]] is an 1892 novel by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] set on Midway. ==Notes== <references /> == References == *Ladd, H.S., J.I. Tracey Jr., and M.G. Gross. 1967. Drilling at Midway Atoll. ''Science'', 156(3778): 1088&ndash;1095 ([[May 26]], [[1967]]). == External links == *[http://www.airnav.com/airport/PMDY AirNav - Henderson Field Airport] : Airport facilities and navigational aids. *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7312777.stm Diary from the middle of nowhere] [[BBC]]'s environment correspondent David Shukman reports on the threat of plastic rubbish drifting in the [[North Pacific Gyre]] to Midway. Accessed 2008-03-26. *{{Wikitravel}} *[http://midway.fws.gov/intro/default.htm Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge] (this article incorporated some content from this public domain site) *[http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/psd/captivecareproject.php#monkseal NOAA Midway Island Hawaiian Monk Seal Captive Care & Release Project] *[http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/90midway/90midway.htm ''The Battle of Midway: Turning the Tide in the Pacific,'' a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan] *[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/aviation/ Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary] *[http://www.midwayisland.com Past residents of Midway] Discussion of Midway related topics by former residents and those interested in Midway. *[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/US_minor.html U.S. Unincorporated Possessions]. Accessed 2008-03-26. *[http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/journeys/01/sep01/feature_full_page_1.html Where the Gooney Birds Are] {{Countries and territories of Oceania}} {{USPoliticalDivisions}} {{NWHawaiianIslands}} <!--Categories--> [[Category:Dependent territories]] [[Category:Midway Islands]] [[Category:National Wildlife Refuges of the United States]] [[Category:Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] [[Category:Islands of Oceania]] [[Category:Pacific Ocean atolls]] [[Category:Registered Historic Places by United States insular area]] [[Category:Seabird colonies]] [[Category:World War II sites]] <!--Other languages--> [[frp:Iles Midvay]] [[az:Miduey rifi]] [[zh-min-nan:Midway Khoân-chiau]] [[bs:Atol Midway]] [[ca:Atol Midway]] [[cs:Midway]] [[da:Midwayøerne]] [[de:Midwayinseln]] [[et:Midway saared]] [[el:Ατόλλη Μίντγουαιη]] [[es:Islas Midway]] [[eo:Midvejinsuloj]] [[fr:Atoll de Midway]] [[gl:Atol de Midway]] [[ko:미드웨이 섬]] [[haw:Pihemanu]] [[hr:Atol Midway]] [[id:Atol Midway]] [[is:Midwayeyja]] [[it:Atollo di Midway]] [[he:אטול מידוויי]] [[jv:Atol Midway]] [[lv:Midveja atols]] [[lt:Midvėjaus atolas]] [[lij:Isoe Midway]] [[hu:Midway-atoll]] [[nl:Midway (eiland)]] [[ja:ミッドウェー島]] [[no:Midwayøyene]] [[pl:Midway]] [[pt:Atol Midway]] [[ro:Atolul Midway]] [[ru:Мидуэй (остров)]] [[simple:Midway Atoll]] [[sk:Midway]] [[sr:Мидвеј]] [[sh:Atol Midway]] [[fi:Midwaysaaret]] [[sv:Midwayöarna]] [[vi:Đảo san hô Midway]] [[tr:Midway Adası]] [[uk:Мідвей (атол)]] [[zh:中途島]]