Palmyra Island-Atoll (Pacific Ocean) is a chain consisting of flat limestone islands located in the form of an open ring. Their height does not exceed 2 meters. Around the chain of islands are coral reefs.
Where is Palmyra Island? The atoll is located in the northern part of the equatorial zone of the Pacific Ocean. Palmyra Island coordinates: 5°52´00´´ north latitude and 162°06´00´´ west longitude. Geographically, Palmyra is located almost in the center of the Pacific Ocean.
The role of the islands in history
The first person to observe these islands was Captain Edmund Fanning of the American ship in 1798. The ship was moving to Asia and almost crashed upon meeting with the atoll. It was only thanks to the captain's painful foreboding that the ship changed its course in time.
The first visitors to these islands were the passengers of the ship "Palmyra", whichwrecked off these islands in 1802. Only a part of the team survived, which managed to get to land. It was they who gave this name to the islands.
April 15, 1862 Palmyra becomes part of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The islands were ruled by Captains Wilkinson and Bent. Until 1898, the atoll was in the possession of different states, but in 1898 the United States forcibly appropriated the Hawaiian Islands, and Palmyra Atoll also passed to them.
Later, in 1900, Palmyra again comes under the control of the government of the Hawaiian Islands. During this period, Great Britain began to claim possession of them. However, in 1911, the US Congress re-adopted the act of appropriating the islands of Palmyra to itself.
The opening of the Pnamsky Canal served as an impetus for the aggravation of territorial disputes. The UK built a station there to service a submarine cable passing through the Pacific Ocean, which became an incentive for the desire to appropriate the islands for itself. However, after the dispatch of a US Navy warship to the shores of Palmyra in 1912, this territory was finally assigned to the Americans.
In the same year, the islands are bought by Henry Ernest Cooper, who became their full owner. In July 1913, scientists visited these islands with him and conducted descriptive studies.
In 1922, Cooper sold most of the islands to two American businessmen who set up coconut copra production there. The sons of these businessmen, among whom was the actor Leslie Vincent, remained the owners of the main part of the islands forlong time.
Until 2000, the islands were actively used by the US military for various purposes. The deployment of the military in Palmyra was permanent. Since 2000, the islands have been used for scientific and conservation purposes. Including they are positioned as a natural laboratory for the study of various consequences of global warming and the problem of invasions.
Island features
Palmyra Island in the Pacific Ocean consists of 50 small islands with a total coastline of 14.5 km. Inside the island semicircle there are two lagoons. The area of Palmyra Island (more precisely, the atoll) is 12 square kilometers, and the land area is 3.9 km2. The islands are surrounded by coral reefs. The atoll itself has the shape of a rectangle with a width (north-south) of about 2 km and a length (west-east) of about 6 km. The zone of islands occupies only part of the reef area, the rest is covered by shallow water with shallow depths. The depth increases in the lagoons located inside the island half-ring.
The largest islands have their own names. The easternmost is Barren Island. Near it are small islands without a name. In the central part of the island group, there is a relatively large (the second largest in Palmyra) Kaula Island. The western group of islands includes the island with the name Glavny and the island Sandy divided into 2 parts. In the northern part of the island group (the so-called North Arch) are islands such as Cooper (the largest in Palmyra), Strain, Aviation Islands, Wyporville andKewile and smaller islands.
The eastern group includes the islands: Vostochny, Pelican, Papala. The southern part of the archipelago is formed by such islands as Tanager, Engineering, Marine, Bird, Paradise.
In relative proximity to the atoll (1200 km to the north) are the Hawaiian Islands. Although the Palmyra group of islands is uninhabited, it officially belongs to the United States. It is subordinate to the department of fish and hunting economy of this country. Palmyra Atoll is still the subject of territorial disputes: the Republic of Kiribati claims this and other atolls of the Pacific Ocean as its territory.
Palmyra Island. Description
The origin of the atoll is associated with the rise to the surface of an ancient volcano, which was active in the area 3-4 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. As a result, a shallow area was formed, which was inhabited by coral polyps. Gradually, from the products of their vital activity, elevations arose, on which woody plants settled.
All islands are flat or low-lying, making them sensitive to sea level fluctuations. They are natural sand mounds, compressed by time. Underwater and surface coral reefs are common on the coast. The relief of the atoll has great power, density and solidity.
Hydrography of the islands is practically absent. The insignificant size and sandy soil preclude the appearance of any significant watercourses. Therefore, without a supply of fresh water, you canrely only on rainwater.
Climatic features
Location in the center of the Pacific Ocean and relatively close to the equator determines the even and humid oceanic climate typical of the equatorial latitudes. The average annual temperature is +30°, and the annual precipitation is 4445 mm. Rains have the character of both short-term and long-term downpours. Rainfall and temperature change little throughout the year.
Vegetation of the islands and wildlife
The islands are covered with powerful herbaceous and shrubby vegetation. Coconut palms and one of the subspecies of the basal tree up to 30 m high also grow. Seabirds play the greatest role in the animal world. Sea green turtles are also common along the coasts and sandy spits. All the islands are inhabited by domestic pigs, cats, mice and rats once brought by visitors.
Remains of infrastructure
In general, the islands are considered practically uninhabited. Only on Cooper Island is there on a permanent basis from 5 to 25 employees-members of US organizations. Also on Cooper Island, remnants of military infrastructure have been preserved. There is also one relic - a crumpled helicopter from the Second World War in the thickets of rhododendron.
Visit the islands for relaxing by the sea and diving is almost impossible. Separate small groups of extreme tourists occasionally still visit the archipelago.
Palmyra is not as hospitable as it seems
At first glance, the islands are the embodiment of an earthly paradise (in its tropical version), but those who have been there have a completely different opinion on this matter. Surrounded by the endless expanses of the Pacific Ocean, a small archipelago is a very inhospitable place. The weather on the islands can suddenly change, bursting with tropical rain and thunderstorms. Many sharks live in s alty sea water, and the fish swimming there are often unsuitable for food due to poisonous substances that are saturated with coastal algae. There are many mosquitoes and poisonous lizards on the island itself.
Many visitors complained of an inexplicable feeling of fear. Various stories tell that mysterious murders, suicides, fights between members of previously friendly collectives and an insistent desire to leave the island as soon as possible took place on the islands. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Palmyra is still an uninhabited place.
Palmyra - Disaster Island
The atoll has repeatedly become the site of shipwrecks. Now their remains lie at the bottom near the islands. The atoll is also known for strange plane crashes. In one of these cases, a plane that crashed near the island went missing. Despite extensive searches, the car was never found.
Another case is also very unusual: an airplane that took off in good weather from the runway, instead of flying along the course, turned in the air in the opposite direction and then flew in that direction until it disappeared over the horizon. The pilots and the aircraft also failed to be found.
Another plane crash happened when the pilot failed to find the runway and eventually crashed into the water. The sharks quickly tore him apart, resulting in no rescue.
Abnormally high non-combat losses forced the military to stop their activities on the atoll.
Conclusion
Thus, Palmyra is an island of mysteries, mysterious occurrences and disasters. An island of changeable weather, coconut trees, shallow coral sea and bright white sand. An island without rivers and streams, and at the same time it is one of the wettest places in the world. Bright and beautiful outwardly, the island of Palmyra, whose photos beckon and fascinate, is actually very inhospitable. Thus, we can conclude that people are not expected on the island, and the best use for it is to be a nature reserve and a natural testing ground for various scientific research.
