| Midway Islands, coral
atoll consisting of two islets in the central Pacific Ocean, owned by the
United States and administered by the U.S. Navy, located about 2100 km (about
1300 mi) northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. The islands were named for their
location near the geographic center of the Pacific Ocean. The two islets
comprising the atoll are Eastern and Sand; the atoll has an overall area
of about 5 sq km (about 2 sq mi). The Midway atoll was discovered in 1859
by an American sea captain; the U.S. took possession in 1867. A transpacific
cable station was built (1903) by the U.S. Marines on Sand Island. The atoll
was declared a naval reservation by President Theodore Roosevelt in the
same year. In 1936 Midway became a stopping point on the transpacific air
route to the Philippines. During the 1930s a Marine garrison was established
and naval and air defenses constructed on Midway. During World War II, U.S.
forces defeated (June 1942) a Japanese fleet in the decisive Battle of Midway,
fought nearby. The U.S. still uses Midway as an air and naval base. Population
(1990) 13. |