Pacific/Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex About halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa lies Palmyra Atoll. Palmyra consists of a circular string of about 50 islets nestled among several lagoons and encircled by 15,000 acres of shallow turquoise reefs and deep blue submerged reefs. It is the northernmost atoll in the Line Islands Archipelago in the equatorial Pacific. Palmyra's history is long and colorful. It was first sighted on June 14, 1798, by Captain Edmond Fanning and officially discovered in 1802 by Captain Sawle of the American ship Palmyra. In 1859, Dr. G.P. Judd of the brig Josephine took possession of the atoll for the United States and the American Guano Company. Three years later, King Kamehameha IV claimed possession for the Kingdom of Hawaii, but in 1889, Great Britian claimed the atoll. In 1898, President McKinley annexed the Territory of Hawaii, specifically mentioning Palmyra, to the United States, but Palmyra was excluded from the Hawaii State boundaries in 1959. Palmyra's native vegetation is lush, supporting one of the largest remaining undisturbed stands of Pisonia beach forest in the Pacific, including native varieties of ferns and shrubs. Palmyra's rich intertidal sand- and mudflats provide attractive resting and feeding grounds for migratory seabirds and shorebirds. The second largest red-footed booby colony in the world is found on Palmyra, which also hosts significant populations of brown boobies and black noddies. Sooty terns, red- and white-tailed tropicbirds, masked boobies, great frigatebirds, and white terns commonly nest on Palmyra. More than 200 bristle-thighed curlews, whose worldwide population estimate is only 6,000 individuals, spend their winters on Palmyra. Pilot whales, bottle-nosed dolphins, reef white-tip sharks, manta rays, and giant clams frequent the atoll's waters, as well as threatened green sea turtles, which also nest on Palmyra's beaches. Large populations of the world's largest land invertebrate, the coconut crab, inhabit the forests along with other crabs. For more information: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific/Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex 300 Ala Moana Boulevard Entry to the refuge is by Special Use Permit only. Room 5-231, Box 50167 Honolulu, Hawai`i 96850 (808) 792-9550 (808) 792-9586 fax Baker, Howland & Jarvis Islands Johnston Atoll Kingman Reef Rose Atoll Hawaiian Islands NWR Main Hawaiian Islands NWRs Top of Page