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Kingman Reef

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Oceania
(Australasia)

   Kingman Reef
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   Kingman Reef
   Kingman Reef—NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color)
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   Kingman Reef—NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Colour)
   southeast part of Kingman Reef, looking north
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   southeast part of Kingman Reef, looking north
   Orthographic projection over Kingman Reef
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   Orthographic projection over Kingman Reef

   Kingman Reef is a one square-kilometer tropical coral reef located in
   the North Pacific Ocean, roughly half way between Hawaiian Islands and
   American Samoa at 6°24′N 162°24′W. It is the northernmost of the
   Northern Line Islands and an unincorporated territory of the United
   States, part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands, administered
   from Washington, DC by the U.S. Navy. The reef is closed to the public.

   It was found in 1789 by Captain Edmund Fanning of the ship Betsey.
   Captain W.E. Kingman described it in 1853. It was formally annexed to
   the United States on May 10, 1922 when Lorrin A. Thurston read this
   declaration on shore, "Be it known to all people: That on the tenth of
   May, A.D. 1922, the undersigned agent of the Island of Palmyra Copra
   Co., Ltd., landed from the motorship Palmyra doth, on this tenth day of
   May, A.D. 1922, take formal possession of this island, called Kingman
   Reef, situated in longitude 162 degrees 18' west and 6 degrees 23'
   north, on behalf of the United States of America and claim the same for
   said company."

   Kingman is about 920 nautical miles south of Honolulu.

   At times, its shoreline might reach three kilometers in circumference,
   but the highest point on the reef is about one 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. The reef partly encloses a deep interior lagoon that
   was used in 1937 and 1938 as a halfway station between Hawai'i and
   American Samoa by Pan American Airways flying boats. In 1937, Pan Am
   had plans to anchor the ship North Wind as a floating tanker at Kingman
   and use the reef as a stopover for its flying boats on the route to New
   Zealand but Pan Am abandoned the idea finding the costs of supporting a
   mostly idle tanker ship prohibitive. There were also concerns that
   comfortable overnight accommodations would not be available in the
   event of a mechanical breakdown. As a result, Pan Am switched to Canton
   Island on May 18, 1939 and began service to New Zealand on July 12,
   1940.
   Kingman Reef October 2003
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   Kingman Reef October 2003

   Wikimedia Atlas of Kingman Reef .

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingman_Reef"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
