Howland Island
coral island in the central Pacific Ocean; unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States of America
Howland Island () is an uninhabited coral island and strict nature reserve located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about 1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km) southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States. Together with Baker Island, it forms part of the Phoenix Islands. For statistical purposes, Howland is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The island has an elongated cucumber-shape on a north–south axis, 1.40 by 0.55 miles (2.25 km × 0.89 km), and covers 1 square mile (640 acres; 2.6 km2).
Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge consists of the entire island and the surrounding 32,074 acres (129.80 km2) of submerged land. The island is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an insular area under the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is part of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
The atoll currently has no economic activity. It is managed as a nature reserve.
“Howland Island” enters the record as coral island in the central Pacific Ocean; unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States of America. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Howland, Island and coral can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Howland Island” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Howland, Island and coral provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q131305. VIAF identifies the subject as 316747099. The Library of Congress control number is sh91005479. Authority coordinates are 0.807, -176.616. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Howland Island”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Howland Island primary sources, Howland Island archive and Howland research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Howland Island”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Howland Island” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.