ARCHIVE // UM // 2002

Johnston Atoll

2002 Edition — territory

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Communications
Internet users (Internet Service Providers (ISPs)) [time series]
1 256 KB circuit to DoD-run Nonsecure Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNET) (2002)
Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]
AM NA, FM 7 (1 island-run morale, welfare, and recreation station and 6 all-music digital radio stations broadcast over FM band), shortwave NA (2002)
Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]
general assessment: 33 commercial lines, 15 incoming and 18 outgoing; adequate telecommunications domestic: 60-channel submarine cable (broken in January 2002), 24 DSN circuits by satellite, Automated Digital Network (AUTODIN) with standard remote terminal, digital telephone switch, Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS) station (scheduled for decommissioning March 2003), UHF/VHF air-ground radio, a link to the Pacific Consolidated Telecommunications Network (PCTN) satellite international: NA (2002)
Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]
commercial satellite television system, with 30 channels (2002)
Economy
Economic overview (Economy - 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.
Electricity - consumption [time series]
approximately 5,500 kWh weekly
Electricity - production [time series]
approximately 850,000 kWh weekly; note - there are six 25,000 kWh generators operated by the base operating support contractor (2002)
Geography
Area [time series]
total: 2.8 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 2.8 sq km
Area - comparative [time series]
about 4.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Climate [time series]
tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline [time series]
34 km
Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Summit Peak 5 m
Environment - current issues [time series]
no natural fresh water resources
Geographic coordinates [time series]
16 45 N, 169 31 W
Geography - note [time series]
strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands, which have been expanded by coral dredging; North Island (Akau) and East Island (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging; egg-shaped reef is 34 km in circumference; closed to the public; former US nuclear weapons test site; site of Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS); some lowgrowing vegetation
Irrigated land [time series]
0 sq km (1998 est.)
Land boundaries [time series]
0 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Location [time series]
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 NM (1328 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands
Map references [time series]
Oceania
Maritime claims [time series]
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Natural hazards [time series]
NA
Natural resources [time series]
guano deposits worked until depletion about 1890, terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
Terrain [time series]
mostly flat
Government
Country name [time series]
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Johnston Atoll
Dependency status [time series]
unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Honolulu, HI, by Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
Flag (Flag description) [time series]
the flag of the US is used
Legal system [time series]
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
Introduction
Background [time series]
Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. The US Navy took over the atoll in 1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site was used for high altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. Munitions destruction is now complete. Cleanup and closure of the facility is progressing, with completion anticipated in 2004.
Military
Military - note [time series]
defense is the responsibility of the US
People
Population [time series]
no indigenous inhabitants note: in previous years, there was an average of 1,100 US military and civilian contractor personnel present; as of September 2001, population had decreased significantly when US Army Chemical Activity Pacific (USACAP) departed; as of January 2003 the island population was just above 800 personnel, including US Air Force, DoD civilian, and civilian contractor personnel (January 2003 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international [time series]
none
Transportation
Airports [time series]
1 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways [time series]
total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]
Johnston Island
Waterways [time series]
none