Baker Island
Encyclopedia
Baker Island is an uninhabited atoll
located just north of the equator
in the central Pacific Ocean
about 3100 km (1,673.9 nmi; 1,926.3 mi) southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii
and Australia
, and is a possession of the United States
. Its nearest neighbor is Howland Island
, 68 km (36.7 nmi; 42.3 mi) to the north.
Located at 0°11′41"N 176°28′46"W. the island covers 1.64 square kilometre (0.633207540091757 sq mi), with 4.9 kilometres (3.04 mi) of coastline. The climate is equatorial, with little rainfall, constant wind, and strong sunshine. The terrain is low-lying and sandy: a coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef with a depressed central area devoid of any lagoon with its highest point being 8 metres (26.2 ft) above sea level.
The island now forms the Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge, which consists of all 405 acres (163.9 ha) of the island and a surrounding 30500 acres (12,343 ha) or 47.656 sq mi (123.43 km²) of submerged land. The National Wildlife Refuge
is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
as an insular area
under the U.S. Department of the Interior
and is an unincorporated and unorganized territory
of the U.S.
Its defense is the responsibility of the United States; though uninhabited, it is visited annually by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
. For statistical purposes, Baker is grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands
.
near the old village site. Baker's abandoned World War II
runway, 1665 m (5,462.6 ft) long, is completely covered with vegetation and is unserviceable.
The United States claims an Exclusive Economic Zone
of 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) and territorial sea
of 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) around Baker Island.
During a 1935–1942 colonization attempt, the island was most likely on Hawaii time, which was then 10.5 hours behind UTC
. Since it is uninhabited the island's time zone is unspecified, but it lies within a nautical time zone
12 hours behind UTC.
Baker was discovered in 1818 by Captain Elisha Folger of the Nantucket whaling ship Equator, who called the island "New Nantucket". In August 1825 Baker was resighted by Captain Obed Starbuck of the Loper, also a Nantucket whaler. The name goes back to Michael Baker, who visited the island in 1834. Other references state that he visited in 1832, and again on August 14, 1839, in the whaler
Gideon Howland, to bury an American seaman.
The United States took possession of the island in 1857, claiming it under the Guano Islands Act
of 1856. Its guano
deposits were mined by the American Guano Company from 1859 to 1878. John T. Arundel
and Company, a British firm using a competing claim to the island by the UK, made the island its headquarters for its guano-digging operations in the Pacific from 1886 to 1891. To clarify American sovereignty, Executive Order 7358 was issued on May 13, 1936.
In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization was begun. The American colonists arrived aboard the USCGC Itasca
, the same vessel that brought colonists to neighboring Howland Island
, on April 3, 1935. They built a lighthouse, substantial dwellings, and attempted to grow various plants. One sad-looking clump of coconut palms was jokingly called "King-Doyle Park" after two well-known citizens of Hawaii who visited on the Taney in 1938. This clump was the best on the island, planted near a water seep, but the dry climate and sea birds, eager for anything upon which to perch, did not give the trees or shrubs much of a chance to survive. King-Doyle Park was later adopted as a geographical name by the USGS
.
The settlement was named Meyerton
after Captain H.A. Meyer of the United States Army
, who helped establish the camps for the colonists in 1935. It had a population of four American civilians, who were all evacuated in 1942 after Japan
ese air and naval attacks. During World War II
it was occupied by the U.S. military.
Since the war, Baker Island has been uninhabited. Feral
cats were eradicated from the island in 1964. Public entry is by special-use permit only from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and it is generally restricted to scientists and educators.
station Baker was a radio operations base in operation from September 1944 to July 1946. The station unit number was 91 and the radio call sign was NRN-1.
Baker has no natural fresh water sources. It is treeless, with sparse vegetation consisting of four kinds of grass, prostrate vines and low-growing shrubs. The island is primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife.
Baker Island is home to a number of threatened and endangered species. The ruddy turnstone
, bar-tailed godwit
, sanderling
, bristle-thighed curlew
and Pacific golden plover
, considered species of High Concern on the national conservation priority scheme, are shorebirds that inhabit the island. Green turtles and hawksbill turtle
s, both threatened, can be found along the reef.
Seabird species such as the lesser frigatebird
, brown noddy
and sooty tern
use the island for nesting and roosting. The island is also believed to be a rest stop for arctic-breeding shorebirds.
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
located just north of the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
in the central Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
about 3100 km (1,673.9 nmi; 1,926.3 mi) southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and is a possession of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its nearest neighbor is Howland Island
Howland Island
Howland Island is an uninhabited coral island located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States. Geographically, it is part...
, 68 km (36.7 nmi; 42.3 mi) to the north.
Located at 0°11′41"N 176°28′46"W. the island covers 1.64 square kilometre (0.633207540091757 sq mi), with 4.9 kilometres (3.04 mi) of coastline. The climate is equatorial, with little rainfall, constant wind, and strong sunshine. The terrain is low-lying and sandy: a coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef with a depressed central area devoid of any lagoon with its highest point being 8 metres (26.2 ft) above sea level.
The island now forms the Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge, which consists of all 405 acres (163.9 ha) of the island and a surrounding 30500 acres (12,343 ha) or 47.656 sq mi (123.43 km²) of submerged land. The National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
as an insular area
Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...
under the U.S. Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
and is an unincorporated and unorganized territory
Unorganized territory
An unorganized territory is a region of land without a "normally" constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory...
of the U.S.
Its defense is the responsibility of the United States; though uninhabited, it is visited annually by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
. For statistical purposes, Baker is grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands
United States Minor Outlying Islands
The United States Minor Outlying Islands, a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code, consists of nine United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll,...
.
Description
A cemetery and rubble from earlier settlements are located near the middle of the west coast, where the boat landing area is located. There are no ports or harbors, with anchorage available only offshore. The narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard, so there is a day beaconDay beacon
A day beacon is an unlighted nautical sea mark. Typically, day beacons mark channels whose key points are marked by lighted buoys. Day beacons may also mark smaller navigable routes in their entirety. They are the most common aid to nautical navigation in shallow water as they are relatively...
near the old village site. Baker's abandoned World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
runway, 1665 m (5,462.6 ft) long, is completely covered with vegetation and is unserviceable.
The United States claims an Exclusive Economic Zone
Exclusive Economic Zone
Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...
of 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) and territorial sea
Territorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
of 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) around Baker Island.
During a 1935–1942 colonization attempt, the island was most likely on Hawaii time, which was then 10.5 hours behind UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
. Since it is uninhabited the island's time zone is unspecified, but it lies within a nautical time zone
Nautical time
The establishment of nautical standard times, nautical standard time zones and the nautical date line were recommended by the Anglo-French Conference on Time-keeping at Sea in 1917. The Conference recommended that the standard apply to all ships, both military and civilian...
12 hours behind UTC.
History
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
Gideon Howland, to bury an American seaman.
The United States took possession of the island in 1857, claiming it under the Guano Islands Act
Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
of 1856. Its guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
deposits were mined by the American Guano Company from 1859 to 1878. John T. Arundel
John T. Arundel
John T. Arundel was an entrepreneur who was instrumental in the development of the mining of phosphate rock on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Banaba ....
and Company, a British firm using a competing claim to the island by the UK, made the island its headquarters for its guano-digging operations in the Pacific from 1886 to 1891. To clarify American sovereignty, Executive Order 7358 was issued on May 13, 1936.
In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization was begun. The American colonists arrived aboard the USCGC Itasca
USCGC Itasca (1929)
The USCGC Itasca was a of the United States Coast Guard launched on 16 November 1929 and commissioned 12 July 1930. Itasca performed Bering Sea patrols; but is most remembered as the "picket ship" that would provide air navigation and radio links for Amelia Earhart when she made her 1937...
, the same vessel that brought colonists to neighboring Howland Island
Howland Island
Howland Island is an uninhabited coral island located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States. Geographically, it is part...
, on April 3, 1935. They built a lighthouse, substantial dwellings, and attempted to grow various plants. One sad-looking clump of coconut palms was jokingly called "King-Doyle Park" after two well-known citizens of Hawaii who visited on the Taney in 1938. This clump was the best on the island, planted near a water seep, but the dry climate and sea birds, eager for anything upon which to perch, did not give the trees or shrubs much of a chance to survive. King-Doyle Park was later adopted as a geographical name by the USGS
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
.
The settlement was named Meyerton
Meyerton, Baker Island
Meyerton is a former settlement on Baker Island. The town was named for Captain H. A. Meyer, United States Army, who in 1935 assisted in establishing living quarters and rainwater cisterns for colonists arriving on the island for the purpose of mining the guano deposits...
after Captain H.A. Meyer of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, who helped establish the camps for the colonists in 1935. It had a population of four American civilians, who were all evacuated in 1942 after Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese air and naval attacks. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was occupied by the U.S. military.
Since the war, Baker Island has been uninhabited. Feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
cats were eradicated from the island in 1964. Public entry is by special-use permit only from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and it is generally restricted to scientists and educators.
LORAN Station Baker
LORANLORAN
LORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters in multiple deployment to determine the location and speed of the receiver....
station Baker was a radio operations base in operation from September 1944 to July 1946. The station unit number was 91 and the radio call sign was NRN-1.
Flora and fauna
Baker Island is home to a number of threatened and endangered species. The ruddy turnstone
Ruddy Turnstone
The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
, bar-tailed godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
, sanderling
Sanderling
The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
, bristle-thighed curlew
Bristle-thighed Curlew
The Bristle-thighed Curlew, Numenius tahitiensis, is a large shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands. It has a long, decurved bill and bristled feathers at the base of the legs. Its length is about 43 cm and wingspan about 84 cm...
and Pacific golden plover
Pacific Golden Plover
The Pacific Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover.The 23–26 cm long breeding adult is spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black...
, considered species of High Concern on the national conservation priority scheme, are shorebirds that inhabit the island. Green turtles and hawksbill turtle
Hawksbill turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. E. imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while E...
s, both threatened, can be found along the reef.
Seabird species such as the lesser frigatebird
Lesser Frigatebird
The Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel, is a species of frigatebird.It nests in Australia, among other locations.There is a single record from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba....
, brown noddy
Brown Noddy
The Brown Noddy or Common Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related Black Noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black...
and sooty tern
Sooty Tern
The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
use the island for nesting and roosting. The island is also believed to be a rest stop for arctic-breeding shorebirds.
Ruins and Artifacts
Debris from past human occupation is scattered throughout the island and in offshore waters. Most is from the U.S. military occupation of the island from 1942 to 1946. The most noticeable remnant is the 150 feet (45.7 m) wide, 5400 feet (1,645.9 m) long airstrip. It is completely overgrown with vegetation and is unusable. In the northeast section, apparently the main camp area, are the remains of several buildings and heavy equipment. Five wooden antenna poles about 40 feet (12.2 m) in height remain standing in the camp. Several crashed airplanes and large equipment such as bulldozers are scattered around the island. Numerous bulldozer excavations containing the remnants of metal, fuel, and water drums are scattered about the north central portion and northern edge of the island. The Navy reported the loss of 11 landing craft in the surf during World War II.See also
- History of the Pacific IslandsHistory of the Pacific IslandsHistory of the Pacific Islands covers the history of the islands in the Pacific Ocean.-Easter Island – Rapanui:Easter Island is one of the youngest inhabited territories on Earth, and for most of the History of Easter Island it was the most isolated inhabited territory on Earth...
- List of Guano Island claims
- List of islands of the United States
- United States Minor Outlying IslandsUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsThe United States Minor Outlying Islands, a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code, consists of nine United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll,...
External links
- Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge
- Baker Island. This article incorporates material from The World FactbookThe World FactbookThe World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official paper copy version is available from the National Technical Information Service and the Government Printing Office...
2000.