Palmyra Atoll:
Geography


Background	The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include Palmyra Atoll, which is now privately owned by the Nature Conservancy. This organization is managing the atoll as a nature preserve. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12 nautical mile US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and were designated a National Wildlife Refuge in January 2001.

Location	Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa
Geographic coordinates	5 52 N, 162 04 W
Map references	Oceania
Area	total: 11.9 sq km land: 11.9 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	14.5 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	equatorial, hot, and very rainy
Terrain	very low
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 2 m
Natural resources	terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (forests and woodlands) (2005)
Natural hazards	NA
Environment - current issues	NA
Geography - note	about 50 islets covered with dense vegetation, coconut trees, and balsa-like trees up to 30 meters tall