JARVIS ISLAND (territory of the US) GEOGRAPHY Total area: 4.5 km2; land area: 4.5 km2 Comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC Land boundaries: none Coastline: 8 km Maritime claims: Contiguous zone: 12 nm; Continental shelf: 200 m (depth); Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm Climate: tropical; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun Terrain: sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s) Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100% Environment: sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; lacks fresh water; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats Note: 2,090 km south of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean, just south of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands PEOPLE Population: uninhabited Note: 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; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators GOVERNMENT Long-form name: none (territory of the US) 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 ECONOMY Overview: no economic activity COMMUNICATIONS Ports: none; offshore anchorage only--one boat landing area in the middle of the west coast and another near the southwest corner of the island Note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast DEFENSE FORCES Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard