*Howland Island, People
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
only and generally restricted to scientists and educators
*Howland Island, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Howland Island
Digraph:
HQ
Type:
unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish and Wildlife
Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National
Wildlife Refuge System
Capital:
none; administered from Washington, DC
*Howland Island, Economy
Overview: no economic activity
*Howland Island, Communications
Ports:
none; offshore anchorage only, one boat landing area along the middle of the
west coast
Airports:
airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on the
round-the-world flight of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan - they left Lae,
New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen again; the airstrip is
no longer serviceable
Note:
Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast that was
partially destroyed during World War II, but has since been rebuilt in
memory of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart
*Howland Island, Defense Forces
defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard