Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox islands
Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; Template:Langx; Template:Langx)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a Template:Cvt atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housing and an airstrip. Immediately east of Sand Island, across the narrow Brooks Channel, is Eastern Island, which is uninhabited and no longer has any facilities. Forming a rough, incomplete circle around the two main islands and creating Midway Lagoon is Spit Island, a narrow reef.<ref name=modis/>
Roughly equidistant between North America and Asia, Midway is the only island in the Hawaiian Archipelago that is not part of the state of Hawaii.<ref name=modis>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Unlike the other Hawaiian islands, Midway observes Samoa Time (UTC−11:00, i.e., eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time), which is one hour behind the time in the Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone used in Hawaii. For statistical purposes, Midway is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, encompassing Template:Cvt<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of land and water in the surrounding area, is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The refuge and surrounding area are part of the larger Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
From 1941 until 1993, the atoll was the home of Naval Air Facility Midway Island, which played a crucial role in the Battle of Midway, June 4–6, 1942. Aircraft based at the then-named Henderson Field on Eastern Island joined with United States Navy ships and planes in an attack on a Japanese battle group that sank four carriers and one heavy cruiser and defended the atoll from invasion. The battle was a critical Allied victory and a significant turning point of the Pacific campaign of World War II.
About 50 people live on Sand Island: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff and contract workers.<ref name="CIA 2023"/> Visiting the atoll is possible only for business reasons, which includes permanent and temporary staff, contractors, and volunteers, as the tourism program has been suspended due to budget cutbacks. In 2012, the last year that the visitor program was in operation, 332 people made the trip to Midway.<ref>Visiting Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. FWS Website.</ref><ref>Volunteer at Midway Atoll NWR. FWS Website.</ref><ref name=star>Ecotourism ends at Midway Atoll . Star-Advertiser, November 16, 2012</ref><ref>[1] Template:Webarchive. Galápagos Travel Website, November 16, 2012.</ref><ref>[2] Template:Webarchive. Photo Safaris Website, November 16, 2012.</ref> Tours focused on the unique ecology of Midway and its military history. The economy is derived solely from governmental sources. Nearly all supplies must be brought to the island by ship or plane, although a hydroponic greenhouse and garden supply some fresh fruits and vegetables.
LocationEdit
As its name suggests, Midway is roughly equidistant between North America and Asia and lies almost halfway around the world longitudinally from Greenwich, England. It is near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, Template:Convert northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, and about one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo, Japan. Unlike the rest of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway is not part of the State of Hawaii due to the Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900 that formally annexed Hawaii to the United States as a territory, which defined Hawaii as "the islands acquired by the United States of America under an Act of Congress entitled 'Joint resolution to provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States,'" referring to the Newlands Resolution of 1898. While it could be argued that Midway became part of Hawaii when Captain N.C. Brooks of the sealing ship Gambia sighted it in 1859, it was assumed at the time that Midway was independently acquired by the United States when Captain William Reynolds of Template:USS visited in 1867, and thus not part of the Hawaii Territory.
In defining which islands the state of Hawaii would inherit from the Territory, the Hawaii Admission Act of 1959 clarified the question, specifically excluding Midway (along with Palmyra Island, Johnston Island, and Kingman Reef) from the jurisdiction of the state.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Midway Atoll is approximately Template:Cvt east of the International Date Line, about Template:Cvt west of San Francisco, and Template:Cvt east of Tokyo.
Geography and geologyEdit
| CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | ||
| Island | Acres | Hectares |
|---|---|---|
| Sand Island | 1,117 | 452 |
| Eastern Island | 336 | 136 |
| Spit Island | 15 | 6 |
| Total land | 1,549 | 627 |
| Submerged reef/ocean | 580,392 | 234,876 |
Midway Atoll is part of a chain of volcanic islands, atolls, and seamounts extending from the Island of Hawaii up to the tip of the Aleutian Islands and known as the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, between Pearl and Hermes Atoll and Kure Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It consists of a ring-shaped barrier reef nearly Template:Cvt in diameter<ref name="More About Midway"/> and several sand islets. The two significant pieces of land, Sand Island and Eastern Island, provide a habitat for millions of seabirds. The island sizes are shown in the table above. The atoll, which has a small population (approximately 60 in 2014,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but no indigenous inhabitants), is designated an insular area under the authority of the United States Department of the Interior.
Midway was formed roughly 28 million years ago when the seabed underneath it was over the same hotspot from which the Island of Hawaii is now being formed. Midway was once a shield volcano, perhaps as large as the island of Lanai. As the volcano piled up, lava flows built the island, its weight depressed the crust, and the island slowly subsided for millions of years, a process known as isostatic adjustment.
As the island subsided, a coral reef around the former volcanic island could maintain itself near sea level by growing upwards. That reef is now over Template:Cvt thick<ref>Template:Cite journal Also reprinted here [3] Template:Webarchive.</ref> (in the lagoon, Template:Cvt, composed mostly of 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 Template:Cvt across. Following Kure Atoll, Midway is the 2nd most northerly atoll in the world.
InfrastructureEdit
The atoll has some Template:Cvt of roads, Template:Cvt of pipelines, one port on Sand Island (World Port Index Nr. 56328, MIDWAY ISLAND), and an airfield. Template:As of Henderson Field airfield at Midway Atoll, with its one active runway (rwy 06/24, around Template:Cvt long) has been designated as an emergency diversion airport for aircraft flying under ETOPS rules. Although the FWS closed all airport operations on NovemberTemplate:Nbsp22, 2004, public access to the island was restored in March 2008.<ref name="fws011508">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Eastern Island Airstrip is a disused airfield used by U.S. forces during the Battle of Midway. It is mostly constructed of Marston Mat and was built by the United States Navy Seabees.
ClimateEdit
Despite being located at 28°12′Template:NbspN, which is north of the Tropic of Cancer, Midway Atoll has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen As)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with very pleasant year-round temperatures. Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with only one month (June) having an average annual precipitation of less than Template:Convert. Template:Weather box
HistoryEdit
Template:US Census population Midway has no indigenous inhabitants and was uninhabited until the 19th century.
19th centuryEdit
The atoll was sighted on July 5, 1859, by Captain N.C. Brooks, of the sealing ship Gambia.<ref name="fws_chronology">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The islands were named the "Middlebrook Islands".<ref name="fws_chronology"/> Brooks claimed Midway for the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856, which authorized Americans to occupy uninhabited islands temporarily to obtain guano. There is no record of any attempt to mine guano on the island.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> On AugustTemplate:Nbsp28, 1867, Captain William Reynolds of Template:USS formally took possession of the atoll for the United States;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the name changed to "Midway" some time after this. The atoll was the first Pacific island annexed by the United States as the Unincorporated Territory of Midway Island and was administered by the United States Navy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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The first attempt at settlement was in 1870 when the Pacific Mail Steamship Company started a project of blasting and dredging a ship channel through the reef to the lagoon using money put up by the United States Congress. The purpose was to establish a mid-ocean coaling station to avoid the high taxes imposed at ports controlled by the Kingdom of Hawai'i.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The project was a failure, and the Template:USS evacuated the channel project's workforce in October 1870. The ship ran aground on 21 October at Kure Atoll, stranding 93 men. On 18 November, five men set out in a small boat to seek help. On 19 December, four of the men perished when the boat was upset in the breakers off of Kauai. The survivor reached the U.S. Consulate in Honolulu on Christmas Eve. Relief ships were despatched and reached Kure Atoll on 4 January 1871. The survivors of the Saginaw wreck reached Honolulu on 14 January 1871.<ref>The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, 28 January 1871</ref>
Early 20th centuryEdit
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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. To make the island more verdant, these workers introduced many non-native species to the island, including the canary, cycad, Norfolk Island pine, she-oak/Ironwood, coconut, and various deciduous trees; along with some Template:Convert of soil from Oahu and Guam. Ants, cockroaches, termites, centipedes, and countless other organisms were unintentionally introduced to Midway and the soil.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On January 20, 1903, the United States Navy opened a radio station in response to complaints from cable company workers about Japanese squatters and poachers. Between 1904 and 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt stationed 21 Marines on the island to end wanton destruction of bird life and keep Midway safe as a U.S. possession, protecting the cable station.<ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Midway Islands." Encyclopedia Britannica, December 6, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/place/Midway-Islands</ref>
In 1935, operations began for the Martin M-130 flying boats operated by Pan American Airlines. The M-130s island-hopped from San Francisco to the Republic of China, providing the fastest and most luxurious route to the Far East and bringing tourists to Midway until 1941.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Only the wealthy could afford the 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 flying boats landed in the atoll and pulled up to a float offshore in the lagoon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tourists transferred to the Pan Am Hotel or the "Gooneyville Lodge", named after the ubiquitous "Gooney birds" (albatrosses), in this case Laysan Albatross and Black-footed Albatross.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
World War IIEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Infobox NRHP The military importance of the location of Midway in the Pacific included its use as a convenient refueling stop on transpacific flights and for Navy ships. Beginning in 1940, as tensions with the Japanese rose, Midway was deemed second only to Pearl Harbor in importance to the protection of the U.S. West Coast. Airstrips, gun emplacements, and a seaplane base quickly materialized on the tiny atoll.<ref name="preparing">Preparing for War Template:Webarchive Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial.</ref> The channel was widened, and Naval Air Station Midway was completed. Midway was also an important submarine base.<ref name="preparing"/>
On February 14, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8682 to create naval defense areas in the central Pacific territories. The proclamation established the "Midway Island Naval Defensive Sea Area", which encompassed the territorial waters between the extreme high-water marks and the Template:Cvt marine boundaries surrounding Midway. "Midway Island Naval Airspace Reservation" was also established to restrict access to the airspace over the naval defense sea area. Only U.S. government ships and aircraft were permitted to enter the naval defense areas at Midway Atoll unless authorized by the Secretary of the Navy.
Midway's importance to the U.S. was brought into focus on DecemberTemplate:Nbsp7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Two destroyers bombarded Midway on the same day; this was the first Bombardment of Midway.<ref name="preparing"/> A Pan-Am flying clipper stopped at Midway and evacuated passengers and Pan-American employees from Wake island, which had also been attacked earlier that day. The clipper was on its usual passenger route to Guam when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened; it then made a return journey going from Wake to Midway, Honolulu, and back to the USA.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A Japanese submarine bombarded Midway on FebruaryTemplate:Nbsp10, 1942.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite book</ref> In total, Midway had been attacked four times between 7 December 1941 and the Japanese submarine attack of 10 February 1942.<ref name="auto"/>
Four months later, on June 4, 1942, a major naval battle near Midway resulted in the U.S. Navy inflicting a devastating defeat on the Imperial Japanese Navy. Four Japanese fleet aircraft carriers, Template:Ship, Template:Ship, Template:Ship and Template:Ship, were sunk, along with the loss of hundreds of Japanese aircraft, losses that the Empire of Japan would never be able to replace. The U.S. lost the aircraft carrier Template:USS, along with a number of its carrier- and land-based aircraft that were either shot down by Japanese forces or bombed on the ground at the airfields. The Battle of Midway was, by most accounts, the beginning of the end of the Imperial Japanese Navy's control of the Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Starting in July 1942, a submarine tender was always stationed at the atoll to support submarines patrolling Japanese waters. In 1944, a floating dry dock joined the tender.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the Battle of Midway, a second airfield was developed on Sand Island. This work necessitated enlarging the island through landfill techniques that, when completed, more than doubled its size.
Korean and Vietnam WarsEdit
From August 1, 1941, to 1945, U.S. military forces occupied Midway. 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 aircraft stopped at Midway for refueling and emergency repairs. Midway Island was a Naval Air Facility from 1968 to SeptemberTemplate:Nbsp10, 1993.
With about 3,500 people living on Sand Island, Midway supported the U.S. troops during the Vietnam War. In June 1969, President Richard Nixon met South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu at the Officer-in-Charge house, also known as "Midway House".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Amateur radioEdit
Because of its particularly remote location and political status as a U. S. Navy base not part of the State of Hawaii, Midway was a separate country for amateur radio purposes. During this era, there were two main amateur radio stations: KM6BI on Sand Island and KM6CE on Eastern Island. Many other amateurs operated under callsigns from their quarters. They all provided a vital link to home via messages and phone patches.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) permitted amateur radio operations on Midway Atoll for the first time since 2002. This initiative aimed to encourage visitors to experience Midway's wildlife, history, and culture, with amateur radio being a significant aspect of this experience.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The operation, designated as K4M, involved a team of 19 operators who activated the atoll for a 10-day period, operating on multiple frequencies and bands to connect with amateur radio enthusiasts worldwide.<ref name=":1" />
Missile Impact Location SystemEdit
From 1958 through 1960, the United States installed the Missile Impact Location System (MILS) in the Navy-managed Pacific Missile Range, later the Air Force-managed Western Range, to localize the splashdowns of test missile nose cones. MILS was developed and installed by the same entities that had completed the first phase of the Atlantic and U.S. West Coast SOSUS systems. A MILS installation, consisting of both a target array for precision location and a broad ocean area system for good positions outside the target area, was installed at Midway as part of the system supporting Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tests. Other Pacific MILS shore terminals were at the Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay supporting Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) tests with impact areas northeast of Hawaii and the other ICBM test support systems at Wake Island and Eniwetok.<ref name=ICAA>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Eastern IslandEdit
Eastern Island, part of Midway Atoll, played a significant role during the Cold War as a site for U.S. naval intelligence operations. From July 1, 1954, to February 1971, it hosted the Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA), Midway Island, which was responsible for operating the AN/GRD-6 High-Frequency Direction Finding (HFDF) system. This system was integral to both the Eastern and Western Pacific HFDF networks, providing critical capabilities in tracking and monitoring high-frequency radio communications.
The AN/GRD-6 HFDF system was designed to automatically provide azimuth indications within the frequency range of 2 to 32 MHz. It featured two antenna arrays: a low-frequency array covering 2 to 8 MHz and a high-frequency array covering 8 to 32 MHz. Each array consisted of multiple monopole antennas arranged in a circular pattern, with a sense antenna positioned at the center.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Beneath each array, a circular copper wire mesh ground mat was buried to ensure consistent and reliable direction-finding performance, independent of local ground conductivity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2" /> The system included superheterodyne receivers and cathode ray tube indicators to display the direction of incoming signals.<ref name=":2" />
The strategic location of Eastern Island allowed the NSGA to monitor vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean, contributing to the U.S. Navy's efforts in signals intelligence and maritime surveillance during a period marked by heightened geopolitical tensions. The data collected through the AN/GRD-6 system supported various military operations and enhanced the United States' situational awareness in the region.
Edit
During the Cold War, the U.S. established a shore terminal, in which output of the array at sea was processed and displayed utilizing the Low-Frequency Analyzer and Recorder (LOFAR), of the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Midway Island, to track Soviet submarines. The facility became operational in 1968 and was commissioned on JanuaryTemplate:Nbsp13, 1969. It remained secret until its decommissioning on SeptemberTemplate:Nbsp30, 1983, after data from its arrays had been remoted first to Naval Facility Barbers Point, Hawaii, in 1981 and then directly to the Naval Ocean Processing Facility (NOPF) Ford Island, Hawaii.<ref name=ICAA/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> U.S. Navy WV-2
Civilian handoverEdit
In 1978, the Navy downgraded Midway from a Naval Air Station to a Naval Air Facility, and many personnel and dependents began leaving the island. With the war in Vietnam over and with the introduction of reconnaissance satellites and nuclear submarines, Midway's significance to U.S. national security was diminished. The World War II facilities at Sand and Eastern Islands were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on MayTemplate:Nbsp28, 1987, and were simultaneously added as a National Historic Landmark.<ref name="nhlsum"/>
As part of the Base Realignment and Closure process, the Navy facility on Midway has been operationally closed since SeptemberTemplate:Nbsp10, 1993. However, the Navy assumed responsibility for cleaning up environmental contamination.
2011 tsunamiEdit
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11 caused many deaths within the bird community on Midway.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was reported that a Template:Cvt -tall wave completely submerged the atoll's reef inlets and Spit Island, killing more than 110,000 nesting seabirds at the National Wildlife Refuge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Scientists on the island, however, do not think it will have long-term negative impacts on the bird populations.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
A U.S. Geological Survey study found that the Midway Atoll, Laysan, and Pacific islands like them could become inundated and unfit to live on during the 21st century, due to increased storm waves and rising sea levels.<ref>"Storm Surges, Rising Seas Could Doom Pacific Islands This Century Template:Webarchive: Atolls and other low-lying islands in the Pacific Ocean may not slip under the waves but they will likely become uninhabitable due to overwashing waves" ClimateWire and Scientific American April 12, 2013</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
National Wildlife Refuge and National MonumentEdit
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Midway was designated an overlay National Wildlife Refuge on AprilTemplate:Nbsp22, 1988, while still under the primary jurisdiction of the Navy.
From August 1996, the general public could visit the atoll through study ecotours.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This program ended in 2002,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but another visitor program was approved and began operating in March 2008.<ref name=fws011508 /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This program operated through 2012, but was suspended in 2013 due to budget cuts.<ref name=star/>
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. The FWS assumed management of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The last contingent of Navy personnel left Midway on JuneTemplate:Nbsp30, 1997, after an ambitious environmental cleanup program was completed.
On September 13, 2000, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt designated the Wildlife Refuge as the Battle of Midway National Memorial.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The refuge is now called the "Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial".
On June 15, 2006, President George W. Bush designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a national monument. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument encompasses Template:Cvt and includes Template:Cvt of coral reef habitat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Monument also includes the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
In 2007, the Monument's name was changed to Papahānaumokuākea ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) Marine National Monument.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}};
Hawaiian pronunciation is given here.{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref> The National Monument is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the State of Hawaii. In 2016, President Barack Obama expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and added the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a fourth co-trustee of the monument.
Gooney monumentEdit
The so-called Gooney monument was carved from a Template:Convert mahogany log as a personal project by a U.S. Navy dental officer stationed on the island. The project began in 1949. The statue was Template:Convert tall and stood for 40 years before succumbing to termite damage. It was replaced with a mock egg after its removal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} (includes a transcription of a 1972 Navy Times article about the statue and a later photo of the monument with the mock egg)</ref>
EnvironmentEdit
Midway Atoll forms part of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Important Bird Area (IBA), designated as such by BirdLife International because of its seabirds and endemic landbirds.<ref name=bli>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The atoll is a critical habitat in the central Pacific Ocean and includes breeding habitat for 17 seabird species. Many native species rely on the island, which is now home to 67–70 percent of the world's Laysan albatross population and 34–39 percent of the global population of black-footed albatross.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A minimal number of the very rare short-tailed albatross also have been observed. Fewer than 2,200 individuals of this species are believed to exist due to excessive feather hunting in the late nineteenth century.<ref name="FWSbirds">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2007–08, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service translocated 42 endangered Laysan ducks to the atoll as part of their efforts to conserve the species.
Over 250 different species of marine life are found in the Template:Cvt of the lagoon and surrounding waters. The critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals raise their pups on the beaches, relying on the atoll's reef fish, squid, octopus, and crustaceans. Green sea turtles, another threatened species, occasionally nest on the island. The first was found in 2006 on Spit Island and another in 2007 on Sand Island. A resident pod of 300 spinner dolphins lives in the lagoons and nearshore waters.<ref name="FWSmarine">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Human habitation has extensively altered the islands of Midway Atoll. Starting in 1869 with the project to blast the reefs and create a port on Sand Island, the environment of Midway Atoll has experienced profound changes.
Several invasive exotics have been introduced; for example, ironwood trees from Australia were planted to act as windbreaks. Of the 200 species of plants on Midway, 75 percent are non-native. Recent efforts have focused on removing non-native plant species and re-planting native species.
Lead paint on the buildings posed an environmental hazard (avian lead poisoning) to the albatross population of the island. In 2018, a project to strip the paint was completed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
PollutionEdit
Midway Atoll, in common with all the Hawaiian Islands, receives substantial amounts of marine debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Consisting of 90 percent plastic, approximately 20 tons of this debris accumulates on the beaches of Midway every year. The garbage is hazardous to the island's bird population: approximately 5 tons of debris is fed to albatross chicks by their parents, but the parents often collect the debris while they are out at sea.<ref>Plastic-Filled Albatrosses Are Pollution Canaries in New Doc Template:Webarchive Wired. June 29, 2012. Accessed 6-11-13</ref> The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates at least Template:Cvt of plastic washes up every week.<ref name="usfishandwildlife">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Of the 1.5 million Laysan albatrosses that inhabit Midway during the winter breeding season, nearly all are found to have plastic in their digestive system.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Approximately one-third of the chicks die.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> These deaths are attributed to the albatrosses confusing brightly colored plastic with marine animals (such as squid and fish) for food.<ref name="mcdonald">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Recent results suggest that oceanic plastic develops a chemical olfactory signature that is normally used by seabirds to locate food items.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Because albatross chicks do not develop the reflex to regurgitate until they are four months old, they cannot expel the plastic pieces. Albatrosses are not the only species to suffer from the plastic pollution; sea turtles and monk seals also consume the debris.<ref name="mcdonald"/> Various plastic items wash upon the shores, from cigarette lighters to toothbrushes and toys. An albatross on Midway can have up to 50 percent of its intestinal tract filled with plastic.<ref name="usfishandwildlife"/>
TransportationEdit
The usual method of reaching Sand Island, Midway Atoll's only populated island, is on chartered aircraft landing at Sand Island's Henderson Field, which also functions as an emergency diversion point runway for transpacific flights. An example of this occurring was in 2011, where Delta Air Lines Flight 277, a Boeing 747-400 traveling from Honolulu to Osaka made an emergency landing at Henderson Field due to a cracked windshield. The US National Wildlife Refuge employees working on the atoll assisted the landing and cared for the nearly 380 passengers and crew for eight hours until a backup plane arrived. No injuries were reported.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
Natural historyEdit
Military historyEdit
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External linksEdit
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial Template:Webarchive (this article incorporated some content from this public domain site)
- Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument – Midway Template:Webarchive
- Diary from the middle of nowhere Template:Webarchive 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.
- The Battle of Midway: Turning the Tide in the Pacific, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan Template:Webarchive
- Marines at Midway: by Lieutenant Colonel R.D. Heinl, Jr., USMC Historical Section, Division of Public Information Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps 1948, Template:Webarchive
- Past residents of Midway Template:Webarchive Discussion of Midway related topics by former residents and those interested in Midway.
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- Island Conservation: Midway Atoll Restoration Project Template:Webarchive