Jarvis Island
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| Image:Flag of the United States.svg | |
| Image:Jarvis Island.svg | |
| Owned by | United States |
|---|---|
| Claimed under | Guano Islands Act |
| Island Type | Coral |
| Discovered | 1821 |
| Claimed for United States | March 1857 |
| Discovered by | Edward, Thomas, and William Jarvis aboard British ship Eliza Frances |
| Area | 4.5 square kilometers |
| Population | Uninhabited. Settled from 1935-1942 before being evacuated |
| Transportation | Offshore anchorage only; two boat landings |
| Major Settlements | Millersville |
| Island Group | Line Islands |
| Uses | Mined for guano between 1858-1879; now a wildlife preserve |
| Image:Orthographic projection over Jarvis Island.png | |
| FIPS territory code | dq |
| ccTLD | .um |
Jarvis Island (formerly also known as Bunker Island[1]) is an uninhabited 4.5 square kilometer coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean at about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. Jarvis is one of the southern Line Islands, in the central area of the group. It is an unincorporated territory of the United States administered from Washington, D.C. by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system.[2]
There are no ports or harbors but a few offshore anchorage spots have been noted. There is one boat landing area in the middle of the west coast and another near the southwest corner of the island. A day beacon is near the middle of the west coast.[3]
The climate is tropical with scant rainfall, constant wind and strong sun. The highest ground is seven meters, or 23 feet, and is mostly sandy. The coral island is surrounded by a narrow fringing reef. Its sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines and low-growing shrubs are primarily a nesting, roosting and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds and marine wildlife.[2]
Because of its only occasional rainfall, the island has no natural fresh water lens.[4] The lack of precipitation and resulting water reserves has created Jarvis's bleak landscape, devoid of any plant larger than a shrub and never capable of sustaining long term human habitation.
For statistical purposes, Jarvis Island is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
[edit] History
The island was discovered on August 21, 1821 by the British ship Eliza Francis (or Eliza Frances) owned by Edward, Thomas and William Jarvis[5][6] and named by her commander, Captain Brown. The uninhabited island was claimed for the United States under the Guano Islands Act in March 1857 and formally annexed by the U.S. on February 27 1858. The guano was to be sent back to the United States for use as fertilizer. For the next twenty one years Jarvis Island was mined continuously for guano, then abandoned in 1879 after tons of guano had been removed.
The United Kingdom annexed the island on June 3 1889. Phosphate and copra entrepreneur John T. Arundel visited the island in 1909 and near the western shore's beach landing built a white, pyramidal wooden day beacon which stood for at least four decades.
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt assigned administration of the island to the U.S. Department of the Interior on May 13 1936.[2]
Jarvis was colonized by the U.S. beginning on March 26 1935 under the Baker, Howland and Jarvis Colonization Scheme (see Baker Island). At the beginning of World War II a Japanese submarine surfaced off the west coast of the Island. Thinking this was a U.S. Navy submarine which had come to remove the four colonists, they rushed to shore. The submarine responded by firing on the island with its deck gun. No one was hurt in the attack and the colonists were evacuated on February 7 1942 (the dwellings were shelled and destroyed at this time).[7]
The Millersville settlement on the western side of the island had a few dwellings and a weather station beginning with the colonization effort in 1935 until World War II when these were heavily damaged and the island was once more abandoned. Jarvis was again visited by scientists in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year and briefly had the only local authority in its history, station chief for the IGY Homung (d. 1958) from 1957 to November 1958 at which time the island was abandoned yet again. The scattered building ruins of both the 19th century guano diggings and the 1935-1942 colonization attempt were reportedly swept away without a trace by a severe storm in January 1958.
Jarvis Island has been administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge (one of the United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges) since June 27 1974. Public entry to Jarvis Island requires a special-use permit and is generally restricted to scientists and educators. The island is visited from time to time by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Coast Guard.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Darwin, Charles; Thomas George Bonney (1897). The structure and distribution of coral reefs. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 207.
- ^ a b c Jarvis Island. DOI Office of Insular Affairs. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
- ^ Jarvis Island. The World Factbook. CIA (2003). Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
- ^ United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
- ^ North Pacific Pilot page 282 (png). Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
- ^ R. v. Higgins, Fuller, Anderson, Thomas, Belford and Walsh. legal proceeding. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ History of Jarvis Island. "World War Two" section of article.. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
[edit] External links
- Jarvis Island Home Page : Website with photos, weather, and more.
- Jarvis Island information website
- WorldStatesmen
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| Federal district | Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) |
| Insular areas | American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Outlying islands | Baker Island · Howland Island · Jarvis Island · Johnston Atoll · Kingman Reef · Midway Atoll · Navassa Island · Palmyra Atoll · Wake Island |
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