Johnston (atoll)

The atoll area is 2.52 km². The coastline is 34 km.

The territorial waters of the island are 12 miles wide, the economic zone is 200 nautical miles.

The climate is tropical; usually dry; constant northeast trade winds with slight seasonal temperature changes. The relief is predominantly aligned, the maximum height is 5 m above the level of the Pacific Ocean .

Natural resources: guano deposits were developed until they were depleted in 1890; land and water animals. On the atoll there are no sources of fresh water.

The atoll consists of two groups of islands bordered by reefs . The islands of Johnston and Sand are natural islands that have been expanded with coral drakes ; the northern island ( Akau ) and the eastern island ( Hikina ) are man-made islands formed by coral draga. The egg-shaped reef - 34 km along the periphery - is closed to the public. In the past, it was the site of a test of American nuclear weapons . The Chemicals Removal System (JACADS) is located on the accessible part of the Johnston Atoll; most of the devices in the system were dismantled, and cleaning should be completed in 2004. The islands have stunted vegetation.

The first European discovery of the atoll was on September 2, 1796, when the American brig Sally accidentally ran aground in shallow water near the island. The captain of the ship, Joseph Pierpon, published his report in several American newspapers and the next year gave the exact location of the island of Johnston and the island of Sandy, along with a part of the reef. However, he did not give them a name and did not make claims on the area of ​​the islands. The islands were not officially named until the captain of the Cornwall ship of the Royal Navy, Charles J. Johnston, did not notice them on December 14, 1807.

In 1858, William Parker and R. Ryan on the chartered schooner "Palestine" went in search of the atoll Johnston. By that time, the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii claimed Johnston. In June 1858, Samuel Allen, on the sports boat Kalama, reached the atoll, tore the American flag there and raised the Hawaiian flag. On July 27, 1858, the atoll was declared part of the domain of the Kingdom of Hawaii. However, when it became known that the flag of the United States was already installed on the atoll, the King of Hawaii abolished Hawaiian jurisdiction over the island. By 1890, the guano reserves were depleted, and the atoll ceased to fall into the interests of the United States under the " Guano Law ".

From July 10 to July 22, 1923 the atoll was first captured by aerial photography .

In 1923, by decree number 4467 of US President Calvin Coolidge, he established the status of the atoll Johnston as a federal bird refuge and placed it under the control of the Department of Agriculture .

In 1858, the United States of America and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed the Johnston Atoll, but only the United States was engaged in its economic activity — it developed guano deposits until the late 80s of the XIX century. In 1926, the islands of Johnston and Sand were declared a natural reservation. In 1934, the US Navy base appeared on the atoll, and later, in 1948, the US Air Force was stationed there. In the 1950s – 1960s, high-altitude nuclear tests were carried out in the space above the atoll, in particular, on July 9, 1962, as part of the Starfish Prime experiment, a nuclear explosion was carried out at an altitude of 400 km.

Until the end of 2000, the atoll was used for the storage and burial of chemical weapons . Currently, the destruction of chemical weapons ceased. Territory clearance and closure of enterprises was to be completed in 2004.

In the past, an average of 1,100 military and civilian personnel were present on the atoll. As of September 2001, the population of the atoll decreased significantly after US Pacific Chemical Forces ( Eng. US Army Chemical Activity Pacific, USACAP ) left the atoll. In January 2004, the population of the islands barely exceeded 200 people - employees of the US Air Force and the US Fish and Wildlife Service .

The local population is absent.

Atoll Johnston is controlled from Honolulu ( Hawaii ) by the command of the Pacific Air Force, the leadership of the Air Force Base and the US Department of Animal and Plant Resources Management. The atoll has a US legal system, using the US flag. For statistical purposes, the atoll belongs to the group of the outer small islands of the United States .

Economic activities are limited to the provision of US military services and contract civilian personnel located on the island. All food and industrial goods are imported.

There is a port "Johnston Island", an airport with a runway length of about 3 km with hard surface.