ell as on nearby Howland
Island - but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned.
Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US
Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle
of the west coast.

Geography Baker Island

Location:
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between
Hawaii and Australia

Geographic coordinates:
0 13 N, 176 31 W

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 1.4 sq km
land: 1.4 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
4.8 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Terrain:
low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 8 m

Natural resources:
guano (deposits worked until 1891), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2001)

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime
hazard

Environment - current issues:
no natural fresh water resources

Geography - note:
treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses,
prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting,
roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine
wildlife

People Baker Island

Population:
uninhabited
note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and
naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during
World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by
special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and
generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and
remnants of structures from early settlement are located near the
middle of the west coast; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife
Service (2005 est.)

Government Baker Island

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Baker Island

Dependency status:
unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington,
DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the
Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refug