Jarvis Island
- ISS002-E-6882
- 16 June 2001
- 23:07 UTC
Jarvis Island lies just 41 km south of the equator and is a member of the central group of islands — although it lies a considerable distance westwards from the main northwest-southeast trending chain of the Line Islands. Jarvis Island is located 350 km southwest from Kiritimati (see panoramic image), forming an unincorporated territory of the US that is managed from Honolulu (2,400 km to the north) as the Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge.
The 4.4 km² island rises from sea level to a low beach crest — reaching an elevation of 7-8 m in the east — before descending to a slight interior depression, some areas of which are at sea level (the central depression is considered to be a remnant of a former lagoon). The eastern coast faces the heavy swells and strong winds arriving from the east, causing this side of the island to be significantly higher than that of the west. The interior of the island consists of a flat bed of coral sand, coral rock and debris. The island is bordered by a narrow fringing reef with an extensive, shallow (>20 m) reef platform extending to the east (at top in the image) for a distance of 1 km.
The climate is dry, supporting an extremely sparse vegetation of grasses, vines and low shrubs. The island supports one of the world's largest colonies of Sooty Terns (Sterna fuscata), with an estimated 1 million individuals using the island.
Synonyms: Bunker Island
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
