| Johnston is a coral
atoll about 700 mi southwest of Hawaii. It consists of four small islands—Johnston
Island, Sand Island, Hikina Island, and Akau Island—which lie on a 9-mile-long
reef. The atoll was discovered by Capt. Charles James Johnston of HMS Cornwallis
in 1807. In 1858 it was claimed by Hawaii, and later became a U.S. possession.
Johnston Atoll is a Naval Defensive Sea Area and Airspace Reservation and
is closed to the public. In the early 1990s, the U.S. government opened
a facility for destroying chemical weapons on Johnston Atoll. |