Jarvis Island (pronounced /ˈdʒɑrvɨs/; formerly known as Bunker Island) is an uninhabited 4.5 square kilometer (1.75 sq. mile) coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean at 0°22′S 160°01′W / 0.367°S 160.017°WCoordinates: 0°22′S 160°01′W / 0.367°S 160.017°W, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands.[1] It is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States, administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system.[2] Unlike most coral atolls, the lagoon on Jarvis is wholly dry.
Jarvis is one of the southern Line Islands and for statistical purposes is also grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
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There are no ports or harbors but a few offshore anchorage spots have been noted. Swift currents are a hazard. There is a boat landing area in the middle of the western shoreline near a crumbling day beacon and another near the southwest corner of the island.[3] The center of Jarvis island is a dried lagoon where deep guano deposits accumulated. These deposits were mined for about 20 years during the 19th century. The island has a tropical desert climate with high daytime temperatures, constant wind and strong sun. Nights, however, are quite cool. The ground is mostly sandy and reaches 7 meters (23 feet) at its highest point. The low-lying coral island has long been noted as hard to sight from small ships and is surrounded by a narrow fringing reef.
Located only 25 miles south of the equator, Jarvis has no natural fresh water lens and scant rainfall.[4] This creates a very bleak, flat landscape without any plants larger than shrubs.[5] There is no evidence that the island has ever supported a self-sustaining human population. Its sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines and low-growing shrubs are primarily a nesting, roosting and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds and marine wildlife.[2]
The island's first known sighting by Europeans was on 21 August 1821 by the British ship Eliza Francis (or Eliza Frances) owned by Edward, Thomas and William Jarvis[6][7] and commanded by Captain Brown. In March 1857 the uninhabited island was claimed for the United States under the Guano Islands Act and formally annexed on 27 February 1858.
Beginning in 1858, several support structures were built, along with a two-story, eight-room "superintendent's house" featuring an observation cupola and wide verandahs. Tram tracks were laid down for bringing mined guano to the western shore. For the following twenty-one years, Jarvis was commercially mined for guano, sent to the United States as fertilizer, but the island was abruptly abandoned in 1879. New Zealand entrepreneurs then made unsuccessful attempts to continue guano extraction on Jarvis, and the two-story house was sporadically inhabited during the early 1880s. Squire Flockton was left alone on the island as caretaker for several months and committed suicide there in 1883, apparently from gin-fueled despair.[8] His wooden grave marker was a carved plank which could be seen in the island's tiny three-grave cemetery for decades.
The United Kingdom annexed the island on 3 June 1889. Phosphate and copra entrepreneur John T. Arundel visited the island in 1909 and near the beach landing on the western shore a tumbled, pyramidal day beacon made from slats of wood was repaired, painted white and stood at least until 1942.
On 30 August 1913, the barquentine Amaranth (C.W. Nielson, captain) was carrying a cargo of coal from Newcastle, New South Wales to San Francisco when it wrecked on Jarvis' southern shore. Ruins of the wooden guano-mining buildings and two-story house could still be seen by the Amaranth crew, who left Jarvis aboard two lifeboats. One reached Pago Pago, American Samoa and the other made Apia in Western Samoa. The ship's scattered remains were noted and scavenged for many years, and rounded fragments of coal from the Amaranth's hold were still being found on the south beach in the late 1930s.[9]
In 1935, Jarvis Island was reclaimed by the United States government and colonized from 26 March onwards under the Baker, Howland and Jarvis Colonization Scheme (see also Howland Island and Baker Island). President Franklin D. Roosevelt assigned administration of the island to the U.S. Department of the Interior on 13 May 1936.[2] Starting out as a cluster of large, open tents pitched next to the still-standing white wooden day beacon, the Millersville settlement on the island's western shore was named after a bureaucrat with the United States Department of Air Commerce. The settlement grew into a group of shacks built mostly with wreckage from the Amaranth (lumber from which was also used by the young Hawaiian colonists to build surfboards), but later, stone and wood dwellings were built and equipped with refrigeration, radio equipment and a weather station.[10] A crude aircraft landing area was cleared on the northeast side of the island and a T-shaped marker was made from gathered stones, intended to be seen from the air, but no airplane is known to have ever landed there.
At the beginning of World War II, a Japanese submarine surfaced off the west coast of the Island. Thinking this was a U.S. Navy submarine that had come to fetch them, the four young colonists rushed down the steep western beach in front of tiny Millersville to shore. The submarine answered their waves with fire from its deck gun, but no one was hurt in the attack. On 7 February 1942, the USCGC Taney evacuated the colonists, then shelled and burned the dwellings.[11]
Jarvis was visited by scientists during the International Geophysical Year from July 1957 to November 1958. The island was then abandoned again.[12] All scattered building ruins remaining from both the 19th century guano diggings and the 1935-1942 colonization attempt were swept away without a trace by a severe storm, witnessed by the scientists, and lasting several days in January 1958. By the early 1960s a few sheds, a century of accumulated trash, the scientists' house from the late 1950s, and a solid, short, lighthouse-like day beacon built two decades before were the only signs of human habitation on Jarvis.
Since 27 June 1974, Jarvis Island has been administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge (one of the United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges). A feral cat population (descendants of cats brought by early guano miners) which had been noted on the island for at least a century, causing much disruption to the local ecology, was at last removed by the early 1980s (efforts to do this had begun in the mid-1960s). 19th century tram track remains can reportedly still be seen in the dried lagoon bed at the island's middle and the late 1930s-era lighthouse still stands on the western shore at the site of Millersville. Public entry to Jarvis Island requires a special-use permit and is generally restricted to scientists and educators. The island is visited from time to time by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Coast Guard.[13]
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| Capital | administered from Washington, DC, by the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system |
| Government | unincorporated territory of the US |
| Area | 4.5 sq km |
| Population | Millersville settlement on western side of island occasionally used as a weather station from 1935 until World War II, when it was abandoned; reoccupied in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year by scientists who left in 1958. Visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service. |
| Internet TLD | .um |
| Time Zone | UTC -11 |
Jarvis Island is one of the Line Islands, in Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean
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Or maybe not In the early 2000s, a writer of "alternate histories" put up a web site which presented itself as the official site of the government of the "Republic of Baker Howland and Jarvis", portraying a bustling tourism destination, including a fake CIA World Factbook article providing statistics for the island nation. The web site is no longer online, but puzzled more than a few armchair travelers. |
First discovered by the British in 1821, the uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858, but abandoned in 1879 after tons of guano had been removed. The UK annexed the island in 1889, but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The US occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935. Abandoned after World War II, the island is currently a National Wildlife Refuge administered by the US Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle of the west coast.
Equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun.
Sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef. Sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife.
Public entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators.
There is a runway of 1,665 m. There is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast.
There is one small boat landing area in the middle of the west coast and another near the southwest corner of the island.
There is no economic activity on Jarvis Island.
There are no public accommodations on Jarvis Island.
There are no natural sources of fresh water on Jarvis Island.
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| Owned by | United States |
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Jarvis Island (formerly also known as Bunker Island[1]) is an uninhabited 4.5 square kilometer coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean at , about one-half of the way from Hawaii to the Cook Islands. It is one of the Line Islands, in the central part of the group. It is an unincorporated territory of the United States, administered from Washington by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system.[2]
There are no ports or harbors, but there are offshore anchorage spots. There is one boat landing area in the middle of the west coast and another near the southwest corner of the island. A day beacon is near the middle of the west coast.[3]
The climate is tropical, with scant rainfall, constant wind, and strong sun. Varying from sea level to seven meters (23 feet), the terrain is sandy, and the coral island is surrounded by a narrow fringing reef. Its sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs are primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife.[2]
The island has no natural fresh water.[4]
For statistical purposes, Jarvis Island is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
The island was discovered on August 21, 1821 by the British ship Eliza Francis, (or Eliza Frances), owned by Edward, Thomas, and William Jarvis[5][6] and named by her commander, one Captain Brown. The uninhabited island was claimed for the United States under the Guano Islands Act in March 1857 and formally annexed by the U.S. on 27 February 1858. The guano was to be sent back to the United States for use as fertilizer. For the next twenty one years Jarvis Island was mined continuously for guano. American business interests abandoned the island in 1879 after tons of guano had been removed.
The United Kingdom annexed the island on 3 June 1889, but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The guano deposits are not known to have been mined during this period.
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt put the U.S. Department of the Interior in charge of the island on 13 May 1936, a situation that lasted until 27 June 1974.[2]
It was colonized by the U.S. 26 March 1935 – 7 February 1942 under authority of the two consecutive Heads of the Baker, Howland and Jarvis Colonization Scheme (see Baker Island). A Japanese submarine surfaced off the west coast of the Island at the beginning of World War II. Thinking it was a U.S. Navy submarine that was coming to remove them, the remaining colonists rushed to the shore. The colonists were shelled; but no one was hurt. The colonists were evacuated in February 1942.[7]
The Millersville settlement on the western side of the island was the location of several dwellings and a weather station from 1935, the year it was colonised, until World War II, when it was abandoned; it was reoccupied in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year by scientists, and shortly had its only proper local authority, Station Chief for IGY Homung (d. 1958) 1957 – Nov 1958, but was again abandoned in 1958.
Since 27 June 1974 Jarvis Island has been administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge (one of the United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges). Public entry to Jarvis Island requires a special-use permit and is generally restricted to scientists and educators only. The island is visited approximately annually by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Coast Guard[8].
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| Federal District | Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) |
| Insular Areas | American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Outlying Islands | Baker Island · Howland Island · Jarvis Island · Johnston Atoll · Kingman Reef · Midway Atoll · Navassa Island · Palmyra Atoll · Wake Island |
Coordinates
: Latitude: 0°22′42″S
Longitude: 160°1′0″W
| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Jarvis Island. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |
| Coord | 0°22′42″S, 160°1′0″W +info.pngGoogle Earth |
| Coord possibly | 0°22.7′S; 160°1′W + |
Jarvis Island is an island owned by the United States. It is "uninhabited", which means that nobody lives there. The small island is a part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands, a group of uninhabited islands.
Jarvis Island was officially made part of the United States in 1858. People used to mine guano there, but they then abandoned it. The United States treats it as a nature reserve.
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   | WorldStatesmen - Minor U.S. Possessions |
| | R. v. Higgins, Fuller, Anderson, Thomas, Belford and Walsh - R v Higgins and others, 1833 |
| | History of Jarvis Island - History of Jarvis Island |
| | Jarvis Island - DOI Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) - JARVIS ISLAND |
| | Jarvis Island - CIA - The World Factbook -- Jarvis Island |
| | The Story of Henry Winkelmann and Harold Willey Hudson on Jarvis Island - The Story of Henry Winkelmann and Harold Willey Hudson on Jarvis Island |
| | North Pacific Pilot page 282 - File:North Pacific Pilot page 282.png - Wikimedia Commons |
| | United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges - CIA - The World Factbook |
| | United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges - CIA - The World Factbook |
| | Panalaau Memoirs. - Jarvis Island - Panala'au Memoirs |
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