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Kingman Reef

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Kingman Reef is a largely submerged, uninhabited tropical atoll located in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly half way between Hawaii and American Samoa. It is the northernmost of the Northern Line Islands and lies 65 kilometres (40 mi) north-north-west of the next closest island (Palmyra Atoll), and about 920 nautical miles (1,700 km) south of Honolulu, Hawaii.

The reef partly encloses a lagoon 73 metres deep, with the greater depths in the western part. At times, its shoreline might reach three kilometers in circumference; the total area within the outer rim of the reef is 76 km². There is just one small strip of dry land on the eastern rim, with an area of less than 10m²/30 ft². The highest point on the reef is about 1 meter above sea level and wetted or awash most of the time, making Kingman Reef a maritime hazard. It has no natural resources, is uninhabited, and supports no economic activity.

Kingman Reef has the status of an unincorporated territory of the United States, administered from Washington, DC by the US Navy. The atoll is closed to the public. For statistical purposes, Kingman Reef is grouped as part of the US Minor Outlying Islands. In January 2009, Kingman Reef was designated a marine national monument.

The pre-20th century names Danger Reef, Caldew Reef, Maria Shoal and Crane Shoal refer to this atoll, which by then was still entirely submerged at high tide.


For the very keen who want more details, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingman_Reef



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