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40-659: Jarvis Island ( / ˈ dʒ ɑːr v ɪ s / ; formerly known as Bunker Island or Bunker's Shoal ) is an uninhabited 4.5 km (1.7 sq mi) coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean , about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands . It is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States, administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of

80-462: A few birds in 1982 to nearly 10,000. Just twelve Spectacled terns were recorded in 1982, but by 2004, over 200 nests were found there. The island, with its surrounding marine waters, has been recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports colonies of lesser frigatebirds , brown and masked boobies , red-tailed tropicbirds , Polynesian storm petrels, blue noddies and sooty terns , as well as serving as

120-431: A migratory stopover for bristle-thighed curlews . Jarvis Island is unlikely to have hosted permanent human occupation before its use for guano mining. However, it is possible the island was utilized as a waypoint or stopover island by Polynesian voyagers. The remoteness of the island and a lack of freshwater resources have prevented large-scale archaeological surveys from taking place. The island's first known sighting by

160-413: A strict classification of height. Some low islands, such as Banaba , Makatea , Nauru , and Niue , rise several hundred feet above sea level , while numerous high islands (those of volcanic origin) rise a few feet above sea level, often classified as " rocks ". Low islands ring the lagoons of atolls . The two types of islands are often found in proximity to each other. This is especially the case among

200-510: A very bleak, flat landscape without any plants larger than shrubs. There is no evidence that the island has ever supported a self-sustaining human population. Its sparse bunch grass , prostrate vines , and low-growing shrubs are primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife. Jarvis Island was submerged underwater during the latest interglacial period, roughly 125,000 years ago, when sea levels were 5–10 meters (16–33 ft) higher than today. As

240-406: A weather station. A crude aircraft landing area was cleared on the island's northeast side, and a T-shaped marker intended to be seen from the air was made from gathered stones, but no airplane is known to have ever landed there. According to the 1940 U.S. Census , Jarvis Island had a population of three people. At the beginning of World War II , an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine surfaced off

280-461: Is a group of 39 coral islands, along with some minor islets and banks . Some of the islands belonging to Kiribati are considered coral islands. The Maldives consist of coral islands. St. Martin's Island is an 8 km (3.1 sq mi) coral island located in Bangladesh . Coral islands are located near Pattaya and Ko Samui , Thailand . Coral is important for biodiversity and

320-465: Is mostly sandy and reaches 23 feet (7.0 meters) at its highest point. The low-lying coral island has long been noted as hard to sight from small ships and is surrounded by a narrow fringing reef . Jarvis Island is one of two United States territories that are in the southern hemisphere (the other is American Samoa ). Located only 25 miles (40 km) south of the equator , Jarvis has no known natural freshwater lens and scant rainfall . This creates

360-660: The Amaranth' s hold were still being found on the south beach in the late 1930s. Jarvis Island was reclaimed by the United States government and colonized from March 26, 1935, onwards, under the American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project . President Franklin D. Roosevelt assigned administration of the island to the U.S. Department of the Interior on May 13, 1936. Starting as a cluster of large, open tents pitched next to

400-744: The United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system. Unlike most coral atolls, the lagoon on Jarvis is wholly dry. Jarvis is one of the Line Islands and, for statistical purposes, is also grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands . Jarvis Island is the largest of three U.S. equatorial possessions, which include Baker Island and Howland Island . The US claimed it in

440-472: The grey-backed tern , is a seabird in the family Laridae . A close relative of the bridled and sooty terns (with which it is sometimes confused), the spectacled tern is less common than the other members of its genus and it has been studied less. The three species, along with the Aleutian tern were recently split into a new genus Onychoprion from Sterna (Bridge et al. , 2005). They resemble

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480-891: The islands of the South Pacific Ocean , where low islands are found on the fringing reefs that surround most high islands. Most of the world's coral islands are in the Pacific Ocean , but they are also found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans . The American territories of Jarvis , Baker and Howland Islands are clear examples of coral islands in the Pacific. Atolls in the Atlantic are found in Colombia's Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina . The Lakshadweep Islands union territory of India

520-405: The 19th century and mined it for guano . In the 20th century, it was the subject of a small settlement. It was attacked during WW2 and evacuated, leaving some buildings and a day beacon . In modern times, it is managed as a nature reserve. While a few offshore anchorage spots are marked on maps, Jarvis Island has no ports or harbors, and swift currents are a hazard. There is a boat landing area in

560-780: The British on August 21, 1821, by the British ship Eliza Francis (or Eliza Frances ) owned by Edward, Thomas and William Jarvis and commanded by Captain Brown. The island was visited by whaling vessels until the 1870s. The U.S. Exploring Expedition surveyed the island in 1841. In March 1857 the island was claimed for the United States under the Guano Islands Act and formally annexed on February 27, 1858. The American Guano Company, incorporated in 1857, established claims regarding Baker Island and Jarvis Island, recognized under

600-644: The Pacific, including from Hawaiʻi; the Hawaiian laborers named Baker Island " Paukeaho ", meaning 'out of breath' or 'exhausted', which is indicative of the hard work needed. For the following 21 years, Jarvis was commercially mined for guano sent to the United States as fertilizer . Still, the island was abruptly abandoned in 1879, leaving behind about a dozen buildings and 8,000 metric tons (8,800 short tons) of mined guano. New Zealand entrepreneurs , including photographer Henry Winkelmann , then made unsuccessful attempts to continue guano extraction on Jarvis, and

640-415: The U.S. Guano Islands Act of 1856. Beginning in 1858, several support structures were built on Jarvis Island, along with a two-story, eight-room "superintendent's house" featuring an observation cupola and wide verandahs . Tram tracks were laid down to bring mined guano to the western shore . One of the first loads was taken by Samuel Gardner Wilder . Laborers for the mining operations came from around

680-984: The atmosphere through precipitation, carbon dioxide mixes with water and forms carbonic acid , raising the ocean's acidity which slows coral growth. Although low islands may have fewer potential habitats than high islands, thus lower species diversity, studies of both types of islands in Palau found that species diversity, at least in the waters around the island, is more affected by island size than by its origin. Low islands have poor, sandy soil and little fresh water, which makes them difficult to farm. They cannot support human habitation as well as high islands. They are also threatened by sea level rise due to global warming . The people that do live on low islands survive mostly by fishing. Low islands usually have an oceanic climate . Spectacled tern Onychoprion lunata ( lapsus ) Sterna lunata Peale, 1848 The spectacled tern ( Onychoprion lunatus ), also known as

720-414: The crooks and crannies of the reef and barnacles attaching themselves directly to the coral's structure. The structures also help plants that need the sun to photosynthesize , by lifting the plants to the ocean's surface where the sunlight can penetrate the water. The structures also create calm zones in the ocean providing a place for fish and plant species to thrive. Over geological time a reef may reach

760-537: The east as far as the Tuamotu Islands , with other colonies in the Society Islands , the Line Islands , Phoenix Islands , Mariana Islands and American Samoa . There are unconfirmed reports of breeding as far south as Fiji , and as far east as Easter Island . Little is known about the populations outside of Hawaii. Outside of the breeding season the species is partly migratory , with birds from

800-584: The growth of fish populations, so maintaining coral reefs is important. Many coral islands are small with low elevation above sea level. Thus they are at threat from storms and rising sea levels . Through chemical and physical changes humans can cause significant harm to reef systems and slow the creation of coral island chains. Coral reefs are threatened by numerous anthropogenic impacts, some of which have already had major effects worldwide. Reefs grow in shallow, warm, nutrient-poor waters where they are not outcompeted by phytoplankton . By adding fertilizers into

840-405: The island contain any large terminal or port. A day beacon near the middle of the west coast is in poor condition and no longer painted. Some offshore anchorage is available. As a U.S. territory, the defense of Jarvis Island is the responsibility of the United States. All laws of the United States are applicable on the island. Coral island Coral reefs are some of the oldest ecosystems on

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880-452: The island on June 3, 1889. Phosphate and copra entrepreneur John T. Arundel visited the island in 1909 on the maiden voyage of the S.S. Ocean Queen , and near the beach landing on the western shore, members of the crew built a pyramidal day beacon made from slats of wood, which was painted white. The beacon was standing in 1935, and remained until at least 1942. On August 30, 1913, the barquentine Amaranth (C. W. Nielson, captain)

920-545: The island's northeast end was later shelled by the Japanese, leaving crater holes. Jarvis was visited by scientists during the International Geophysical Year from July 1957 until November 1958. In January 1958, all scattered building ruins from the nineteenth-century guano diggings and the 1935–1942 colonization attempt were swept away without a trace by a severe storm that lasted several days and

960-417: The largest seabird breeding colonies in the tropical ocean. Still, guano mining and the introduction of rodents have ruined much of the island's native wildlife. Eight breeding species were recorded in 1982, compared to thirteen in 1996 and fourteen in 2004. The Polynesian storm petrel had made its return after over 40 years of absence from Jarvis Island, and the number of Brown noddies multiplied from just

1000-489: The late 1930s-era lighthouse-shaped day beacon still stands on the western shore at the site of Millersville. Public entry to anyone, including U.S. citizens, on Jarvis Island requires a special-use permit and is generally restricted to scientists and educators. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Coast Guard periodically visit Jarvis. There is no airport on the island, nor does

1040-411: The mid-1960s and lasted until 1990 when they were completely eradicated. Since cats were removed, seabird numbers and diversity have increased. Among the seabirds that returned to Jarvis Island with gray-backed terns rebuilding quickly and petrels taking longer to reestablish themselves on the island. Nineteenth-century tram track remains can be seen in the dried lagoon bed at the island's center, and

1080-421: The middle of the western shoreline near a crumbling day beacon and another near the island's southwest corner. The center of Jarvis island is a dried lagoon where deep guano deposits accumulated, which were mined for about 20 years during the nineteenth century. The island has a tropical desert climate , with high daytime temperatures, constant wind, and intense sun. Nights, however, are quite cool. The ground

1120-431: The planet, over geological time, they form massive reefs of limestone . The reef environment supports more plant and animal species than any other habitat. Coral reefs are vital for life in multiple aspects some of which include structure, ecology, and nutrient cycles which all support biodiversity in the reefs. Coral reefs build massive calcareous skeletons that serve as homes for animals such as fish hiding inside

1160-592: The sea level declined, the horseshoe-shaped lagoon formed in Jarvis Island's center. Jarvis Island's highest point has a topographic isolation of 380.57 kilometers (236.48 mi; 205.49 nmi), with Joe's Hill on Kiritimati being the nearest higher neighbor. Jarvis Island is located in the Samoa Time Zone (UTC -11:00), the same time zone as American Samoa , Kingman Reef , Midway Atoll , and Palmyra Atoll . Jarvis Island once held some of

1200-505: The sooty tern but with a grey back instead of a black one. Their breast and underparts are white, and they have a black eye line from the bill to the back of the head. The spectacled tern breeds on islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean . At the northern end of its distribution it nests in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (with the largest population being Lisianski Island ) and two small islets off Oahu , in

1240-530: The still-standing white wooden day beacon, the Millersville settlement on the island's western shore was named after a bureaucrat with the United States Department of Air Commerce . The settlement grew into a group of shacks built mostly with wreckage from the Amaranth (lumber from which was also used by the young Hawaiian colonists to build surfboards ), but later, stone and wood dwellings were built and equipped with refrigeration, radio equipment, and

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1280-400: The surface and can become a coral island, where it begins a whole new ecosystem for land-based creatures. A coral island begins as a volcanic island over a hot spot . As the volcano emerges from the sea, a fringing reef grows on the outskirt of the volcano. The volcano eventually moves off the hot spot by means of plate tectonics . Once this occurs, the volcano can no longer keep up with

1320-442: The two-story house was sporadically inhabited during the early 1880s. Squire Flockton was left alone on the island as caretaker for several months and committed suicide there in 1883, apparently from gin -fueled despair. His wooden grave marker was a carved plank which could be seen in the island's tiny four-grave cemetery for decades. John T. Arundel & Co. resumed mining guano from 1886 to 1899. The United Kingdom annexed

1360-453: The water runoff, phytoplankton populations can explode and choke out coral reef systems. Adding too many sediments can cause a similar problem by blocking out the sun, starving the zooxanthellae that live on coral causing it to undergo a process known as coral bleaching . The ocean's acidity is also a factor. Coral is made of calcium carbonate and is dissolved by carbonic acid. With the increase in carbon dioxide from combustion reactions in

1400-473: The wave erosion and undergoes subsidence . Once the island is submerged, the coral must keep growing to stay in the epipelagic zone . This causes the coral to grow into an atoll with a shallow lagoon in the middle. The lagoon undergoes accretion and creates an island completely made of carbonate materials. The process is later enhanced with the remains of plant life which grows on the island. The term "low island" refers to geologic origin rather than

1440-496: The west coast of the island. Believing that a U.S. Navy submarine had come to fetch them, the four young colonists rushed down the steep western beach in front of Millersville towards the shore. The submarine answered their waves with fire from its deck gun, but no one was hurt in the attack. On February 7, 1942, the USCGC Taney evacuated the colonists, then shelled and burned the dwellings. The roughly cleared landing area on

1480-526: Was carrying a cargo of coal from Newcastle, New South Wales , to San Francisco when it wrecked on Jarvis' southern shore. Ruins of ten wooden guano-mining buildings, the two-story house among them, could still be seen by the Amaranth crew, who left Jarvis aboard two lifeboats . One reached Pago Pago , American Samoa , and the other made Apia in Samoa . The ship's scattered remains were noted and scavenged for many years, and rounded fragments of coal from

1520-519: Was expanded in 2009 to add submerged lands within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of the island. The refuge now includes 1,273 acres (5.15 km) of land and 428,580 acres (1,734.4 km) of water. Along with six other islands, the island was administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. In January 2009, that entity

1560-517: Was upgraded to the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument by President George W. Bush . A feral cat population, descendants of cats likely brought by colonists in 1937, wrought disruption to the island's wildlife and vegetation. Including the complete removal of rats, but not the mice, which had been introduced to the island previously. These cats were removed through efforts which began in

1600-569: Was witnessed by scientists. When the IGY research project ended, the island was abandoned again. By the early 1960s, a few sheds, a century of accumulated trash, the scientists' house from the late 1950s, and a solid, short lighthouse-like day beacon built two decades before were the only signs of human habitation on Jarvis. On June 27, 1974, Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton created Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge, which

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