ARCHIVE // UM // 1992

Wake Island

1992 Edition — territory

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Communications
Airports [time series]
1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m
Note [time series]
formerly an important commercial aviation base, now used only by US military and some commercial cargo planes
Ports [time series]
none; because of the reefs, there are only two offshore anchorages for large ships
Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]
underwater cables to Guam and through Midway to Honolulu; 1 Autovon circuit off the Overseas Telephone System (OTS); Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio and television service provided by satellite; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV
Defense Forces
Note [time series]
defense is the responsibility of the US
Economy
Electricity [time series]
supplied by US military
Economic overview (Overview) [time series]
Economic activity is limited to providing services to US military personnel and contractors located on the island. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Geography
Climate [time series]
tropical
Coastline [time series]
19.3 km
Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]
about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]
claimed by the Republic of the Marshall Islands
Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]
subject to occasional typhoons
Area (Land area) [time series]
6.5 km2
Land boundaries [time series]
none
Land use [time series]
arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%
Maritime claims [time series]
Contiguous zone: 12 nm Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources [time series]
none
Note [time series]
strategic location 3,700 km west of Honolulu in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way between Hawaii and the Northern Mariana Islands; emergency landing location for transpacific flights
Terrain [time series]
atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim; average elevation less than four meters
Area (Total area) [time series]
6.5 km2
Government
Capital [time series]
none; administered from Washington, DC
Flag [time series]
the US flag is used
Country name (Long-form name) [time series]
none
Government type (Type) [time series]
unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Air Force (under an agreement with the US Department of Interior) since 24 June 1972
People
Population [time series]
no indigenous inhabitants; 381 temporary population (US Air Force personnel, civilian weather service personnel, and US and Thai contractors) (January 1992); note - population peaked about 1970 with over 1,600 persons during the Vietnam conflict