Kingman Reef
- Landsat 7 image,
- date unknown
The pristine Kingman Reef is the northernmost of the Line Islands, located 53 km northwest from Palmyra Atoll and 1,500 km south of Hawai'i. The eastern side of the reef consists of a V-shaped reef upon which small islets composed of coral rubble and coarse sand exist. These elongate islets often change their size and form with the result of strong wave action. The western side of Kingman Reef forms the 'base' to the triangular-shaped reef and is completely submerged in deep water at all times. The outer reefs enclose a deep lagoon that ranges in depth from 15 to 75 m. The reef is around 20 km long on the southern side, 12 km long on the northeast and 14 km on the western side.
Like Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef was declared as a National Wildlife Refuge by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2001 with the aim of protecting some of the most pristine coral reefs to be found in US waters. The Kingman Reef NWR protects around 1,957 km² of submerged lands and waters that includes 105 km² of coral reef habitat. The NWR protects a high diversity of coral species, fish and other marine organisms as well providing a stopover point for seabirds and shorebirds. The endangered Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) is also found in the region.
image: millenium coral reefs landsat archive/usf millenium global coral reef mapping project/nasa seawifs/nasa jsc
