Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
*Wake Island, Header
Affiliation: (territory of the US)
*Wake Island, Geography
Location:
in the North Pacific Ocean, 3,700 km west of Honolulu, about two-thirds of
the way between Hawaii and the Northern Mariana Islands
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total area:
6.5 km2
land area:
6.5 km2 comparative area:
about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
19.3 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
200 m or depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
claimed by the Republic of the Marshall Islands
Climate:
tropical
Terrain:
atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater volcano; central
lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim; average elevation less
than 4 meters
Natural resources:
none
Land use:
arable land:
0%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
100%
Irrigated land:
0 km2
Environment:
subject to occasional typhoons
Note:
strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; emergency landing location
for transpacific flights
*Wake Island, People
Population:
no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are 302 US Air Force personnel,
civilian weather service personnel, and US and Thai contractors; population
peaked about 1970 with over 1,600 persons during the Vietnam conflict
*Wake Island, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Wake Island
Digraph:
WQ
Type:
unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Air Force (under
an agreement with the US Department of Interior) since 24 June 1972
Capital:
none; administered from Washington, DC
Independence:
none (territory of the US)
Flag:
the US flag is used
*Wake Island, Economy