Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll as the 2015 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 26 fields, one of 24 editions from 1990 to 2020.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston Island and Sand Island were designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll in 1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. Cleanup and closure of the weapons facility ended in May 2005.
Geography
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nm (1328 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands
16 fieldsLocation
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nm (1328 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands
Climate
tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation
Geography - note
- strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean;
- Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands, which have been expanded by coral dredging;
- North Island (Akau) and East Island (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging;
- the egg-shaped reef is 34 km in circumference;
- closed to the public;
- a former US nuclear weapons test site;
- site of now-closed Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS);
- most facilities dismantled and cleanup complete in 2004;
- some low-growing vegetation
People and Society
1 fieldPopulation
uninhabited
note: in previous years, there was an average of 1,100 US military and civilian contractor personnel present; as of September 2001, population had decreased significantly when US Army Chemical Activity Pacific (USACAP) departed; as of May 2005 all US Government personnel had left the island
Government
4 fieldsDependency status
unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Honolulu, Hawaii, by Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
Transportation
2 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved only
Military
1 fieldTransnational Issues
1 fieldCite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Johnston Atoll.” The World Factbook 2015. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/johnston-atoll/2015.