About Us

Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is located 2,138 nautical miles west of Honolulu. Wake is the northernmost atoll in the Marshall Islands geological ridge and perhaps the oldest and northernmost living atoll in the world. Today the lands within Wake Atoll are under the primary jurisdiction of the U.S. Air Force and are an active U.S. Air Force Installation. The refuge includes 497,750 acres of emergent (1,754 terrestrial acres) and submerged lands and waters surrounding Wake Atoll out to 12 nautical miles from the mean low water line of the islands. The Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge System Unit of the Monument includes the emergent and submerged lands and waters out to 200 nautical miles, for a total of 100,765,798 acres. Despite its small land and reef areas, the atoll provides important seabird and migratory shorebird habitat, as well as vibrant coral reefs that support large populations of fishes. 

Composed of a reef-enclosed lagoon, the atoll consists of three coral islands (Peale, Wake and Wilkes), built upon an underwater volcano. The atoll's central lagoon is the volcano crater; the islands are part of the rim. Wake Island, the main or center section of the "wishbone", is much the largest of the three islands. "V"-shaped and pointed towards the southeast, Wake Island comprises the outer perimeter of the eastern half of the atoll. Peale and Wilkes Islands continue the open ends of the prongs of the "wishbone" on the north and south respectively. The northwestern side of the atoll is open, except for the coral reef, which surrounds the atoll and completes the lagoon's enclosure. 

Wake was formally claimed by the United States during the Spanish American War, when it was possessed for use as a cable station. In 1935, Pan American Airways established a seaplane refueling base and 48-room hotel on Peale Island, becoming the atoll’s first permanent residents. 

On December 11, 1941, the U.S. Marine garrison and 1,200 civilians completing construction of a major air and submarine base on Wake were attacked by the Japanese, the only amphibious landing attempt to be repulsed by shore-based guns during World War II in the Pacific. In a second attack on December 23, Wake’s survivors were overwhelmed by Japanese soldiers, who maintained control over the atoll until September 1945. At least two Japanese destroyers, two transport landing craft, and multiple aircraft were lost in the vicinity of Wake Island during the December 1941 assault. 

Wake Atoll was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1985 in recognition of its role in World War II. Numerous artifacts from the war remain, perhaps the most famous being the “98 Rock,” a memorial for the 98 U.S. civilian contract POWs who were forced by their Japanese captors to rebuild the airstrip as slave labor, then blindfolded and killed by machine gun on October 5, 1943. An unidentified prisoner escaped, and chiseled "98 US PW 5-10-43" on a large coral rock near their mass grave. The prisoner was recaptured and beheaded by the Japanese admiral, who was later convicted and executed for war crimes 

Our Mission

The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management and, where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans. 

Our History

• December 11, 1941 - The U.S. Marine garrison and 1,200 civilians completing construction of a major air and submarine base on Wake are attacked by the Japanese, the only amphibious landing attempt to be repulsed by shore-based guns during World War II in the Pacific. 
• 1985 – Wake Atoll is designated a National Historic Landmark for its role in World War II. 
• January 6, 2009 - The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (formerly called the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument) is established, which expanded the protected boundaries of Wake Atoll out to 50 miles. 
• January 19, 2009 – The Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is established by Department of the Interior Secretary Order 3284.
• September 25, 2014 – The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument is expanded.  The protection around Wake Atoll now extends out to 200 nautical miles.

Wildlife of Wake Atoll

Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is home to numerous species of unique wildlife. There have been 100 species of corals reported and abundant fish populations with at least 323 recorded species, including large populations of the Napoleon wrasse, sharks of several species, and large schools of the bumphead parrotfish, all of which are globally depleted. Foraging populations of the threatened green sea turtle and resident populations of spinner dolphins are also found at Wake. 

The islands support a rare grass species, Lepturus gasparricensis, and were home to the endemic Wake rail until it went extinct during World War II. Wake Atoll supports 14 species of resident nesting seabirds and 6 species of migratory shorebirds, all with populations of regional significance. Black-footed and Laysan albatrosses have recently recolonized Wake, making it one of the few northern albatross breeding sites outside the Hawaiian Archipelago. Following the successful eradication of rats, confirmed in November 2025, Bonin petrels, Christmas shearwaters, Bulwer’s petrels, and band-rumped storm-petrels have been observed on the atoll, with nesting confirmed for Bonin petrels.

Wake is home to several species of reptiles and invertebrates also. Mourning geckos, stump-toed geckos and house geckos frequent the island, along with snake-eyed skinks, azure-tailed skinks, and green sea turtles. Strawberry hermit crabs, horned ghost crabs, fiddler crabs, thin-shelled rock crabs, and scorpions have been observed on Wake.

Other Facilities in this Complex

While Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is not a complex, it does fall within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. The monument incorporates 313,941,852 acres (approximately 490,000 square miles) within its boundaries, which extend 50 nautical miles from Howland and Baker Islands, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll, and 200 miles around Jarvis Island, and Johnston and Wake Atolls.