Jarvis Island

[ Bathymetry | Backscatter | Optical Validation | Seafloor Characterization ]

Jarvis Island is an uninhabited island located at 0°22′S 160°03′W in the Central Pacific. It is a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) under the USFWS and public access is by permit only; most permits are issued to scientists and educators. It was discovered on August 21, 1821, by the British ship Eliza Frances) and named for the owners of this vessel, but never occupied by the British. The United States took possession of the island in 1856 under the Guano Islands Act of 1856 and from 1886 to 1934 it was a British Overseas Territory; guano mining was conducted only by the Americans. There was a brief attempt at colonization at Howland, Jarvis, and Baker Islands from 1935 to 1942 by students and alumnae from Kamehameha School in Hawai‘i.

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