Palmyra Atoll

Palmyra Atoll lies almost exactly on the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, roughly 1,000 miles south of Honolulu, and is one of the most isolated and unspoiled places remaining under American sovereignty. The atoll is composed of more than 50 small islets surrounding a central lagoon, with the largest islets covered in dense coconut palms and other vegetation that has grown up since the island was largely stripped of its original forest during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The setting is quintessential tropical wilderness, with turquoise lagoon waters, white sand beaches, and the constant sound of wind through the palms, completely free of permanent human inhabitants.

Palmyra was claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act in 1859, and the Guano period left a lasting legacy of environmental damage as phosphate-rich soil was aggressively mined and exported, fundamentally altering the island's ecology. The atoll later became the scene of a prolonged legal and political battle during the 1970s and 1980s when a group of wealthy American investors attempted to develop it as a private luxury resort and residential community, a plan that ultimately failed due to opposition, legal challenges, and the difficulty of building infrastructure in such a remote location.

During World War II the United States Navy built an airfield on Palmyra as part of its effort to establish a chain of airfields across the central Pacific, though the runway was never completed to its intended specifications and proved of limited strategic value. The Japanese never captured the atoll, though it was shelled by a Japanese submarine in 1942 in one of the most distant naval actions of the war, and the airfield was subsequently abandoned after the conflict ended. The rusted remains of the incomplete runway and associated equipment can still be seen on the island today.

The Nature Conservancy acquired Palmyra Atoll in 2005 and subsequently transferred it to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which now manages it as part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. The atoll has been the site of extensive ecological restoration efforts, including the removal of invasive species, the replanting of native vegetation, and the protection of seabird nesting colonies that make Palmyra one of the most important bird nesting sites in the central Pacific.

The surrounding reefs are widely considered to be among the most pristine in the Pacific, supporting extraordinary biodiversity including more than 400 species of fish and extensive coral formations that remain healthy in part because of the island's protected status and remote location. The lagoon and reef system attract researchers studying coral reef ecology, seabird populations, and the effects of climate change on tropical marine ecosystems, and Palmyra has been the site of long-term scientific monitoring programs that provide valuable baseline data on ocean conditions.

Visitor access is extremely limited and managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, with only a small number of research and educational visits permitted each year, making Palmyra one of the least-visited yet most scientifically valuable natural areas in the world. There are no permanent facilities for visitors, and the only structures on the atoll are the remnants of the World War II airfield, a few basic research buildings, and the remnants of the failed resort development that were never completed, giving the island an eerie quality of abandoned ambition amidst extraordinary natural beauty.

Palmyra offers near-pristine coral reefs and marine ecosystems that have been largely spared the bleaching and damage that has affected reefs in more accessible locations.

The atoll's combination of coconut forest, wildlife, and lagoon environments represents one of the most intact tropical island ecosystems remaining under American jurisdiction.

The scientific research conducted on Palmyra provides some of the most valuable long-term data on ocean and reef health anywhere on Earth.