   #copyright

Johnston Atoll

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Oceania
(Australasia)

   Johnston Atoll - NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image
   Enlarge
   Johnston Atoll - NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Colour) Satellite Image
   Map of the islands of Johnston Atoll, not showing rim of coral reef
   Enlarge
   Map of the islands of Johnston Atoll, not showing rim of coral reef
   Growth of Johnson Island by coral dredging
   Enlarge
   Growth of Johnson Island by coral dredging

   Johnston Atoll is a 130 km² atoll in the North Pacific Ocean at 16°45′N
   169°31′W, about one-third of the way from Hawai'i to the Marshall
   Islands. There are four islands located on the coral reef platform, two
   natural islands, Johnston Island and Sand Island, which have been
   expanded by coral dredging, as well as North Island (Akau) and East
   Island (Hikina), artificial islands formed from coral dredging.
          Island        Original Size
                        1942 ( ha)   Final Size
                                     1964 ( ha)
     Johnston Island    19           241
       Sand Island      4            9
   North (Akau) Island  -            10
   West (Hikina) Island -            7
          TOTAL         23           267

   The four islands comprise a total land mass of 2.67 km². Due to the
   atoll's tilt, much of the reef on the southeast portion has subsided.
   But even though it does not have an encircling reef crest, the reef
   crest on the northwest portion of the atoll does provide for a shallow
   lagoon, with depths ranging from 3-10 m.

   Johnston is an unincorporated territory of the United States, part of
   the United States Minor Outlying Islands, administered by the U.S. Fish
   and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior as part of the
   United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges.

   Its climate is tropical but generally dry. Northeast trade winds are
   consistent and there is little seasonal temperature variation. With
   elevation ranging from sea level to 5 m at Summit Peak, the islands
   contain some low-growing vegetation on mostly flat terrain and no
   natural fresh water resources.

   The atoll was briefly listed as property for auction by the U.S.
   General Services Administration Office of Property Disposal in 2005.
   The listing was promptly withdrawn until a market analysis could be
   performed, and the land use restrictions and an environmental impact
   statement (as required by the US National Environmental Policy Act)
   could be developed. As of April 2006, the GSA representative
   responsible for the island indicated that it might be placed up for
   auction in the future, but "not anytime soon."

   Wikimedia Atlas of Johnston Atoll .

History

   The island was named for Captain James Johnston who claimed its
   official discovery on December 10, 1807. The Johnston Atoll was claimed
   by both the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1858. The
   Atoll's guano deposits, mined by U.S. interests operating under the
   Guano Islands Act, were worked until depletion at about 1890.

   On July 29, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge established the Johnston
   Atoll as a Federal bird refuge and placed it under the control of the
   U.S. Department of Agriculture. On December 29, 1934 President Franklin
   D. Roosevelt transferred control of Johnston Atoll to the U.S. Navy to
   establish an air station and also to the Department of the Interior to
   administer the bird refuge. In 1936, the U.S. Navy began developing a
   seaplane base, an airstrip and refueling facilities on the atoll. It
   was designated as a Naval Defensive Sea Area and Airspace Reservation
   on February 14, 1941.

   Johnston Atoll was shelled by Japan in World War II. The area was
   subsequently a U.S. nuclear weapons test site and later the site of the
   Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS).
   approaching runway on Johnston Island from northeastwest part of Sand
   Island on rightThe base was closed, and the airport inactivatedJune 15,
   2004.
   Enlarge
   approaching runway on Johnston Island from northeast
   west part of Sand Island on right
   The base was closed, and the airport inactivated
   June 15, 2004.

   Between 1958 and 1975 several sounding rockets were launched from
   Johnston Island. There were also several nuclear missiles launched from
   the island in 1962 during the Operation Dominic nuclear test series,
   from a launchpad at 16.7370° N 169.5240° W. Afterwards, the radioactive
   debris and soils were placed in a 25 acre landfill on the island, along
   with residue from Agent Orange containers returned from Vietnam after
   the war.

   In 1963, the Congress passed a Limited Test Ban Treaty that contained a
   provision known as "Safeguard C". Safeguard C was the basis for
   maintaining Johnston Atoll as a "ready to test" above ground nuclear
   testing site should atmospheric nuclear testing be deemed necessary. In
   1993, Congress zero-funded the Johnston Atoll Safeguard C mission and
   redefined the island's military mission as the storage and destruction
   of chemical weapons.

   The atoll has no indigenous inhabitants, although during the latter
   20th century there was an average of 1,100 U.S. military and civilian
   contractor personnel present at any given time.

   The central means of transport to the island was the airport which had
   a paved, military runway. The islands were wired with 13 outgoing and
   10 incoming commercial telephone lines, a 60-channel submarine cable,
   22 DSN circuits by satellite, an Autodin with standard remote terminal,
   a digital telephone switch, the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS
   station), a UHF/VHF air-ground radio, and a link to the Pacific
   Consolidated Telecommunications Network (PCTN) satellite.

   The atoll's economic activity was limited to providing services to U.S.
   military personnel and contractors located on the island. All food and
   manufactured goods were imported. The base had six 2.5 MW generators
   supplied by the base's support contractor, Holmes and Narver, using
   Enterprise Engine and Machinery Company (Oakland CA) DSR-36 diesel
   engines. The runway facility was also available to commercial airlines
   for emergency landings (a fairly common event) . By the end of 2003
   jurisdiction of the atoll was transferred from the military to the
   United States Fish and Wildlife Service. All structures and facilities,
   including those used in JACADS, were removed and the runway was marked
   closed.

   On August 22, 2006, Johnston Island was struck by Hurricane Ioke. The
   eastern eyewall passed directly over the atoll, with winds exceeding
   100 mph.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_Atoll"
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