Kingman Reef is a largely submerged, uninhabited triangular-shaped reef, 9.5 nautical miles
(18 kilometers) east-west and 5 nmi (9 km) north-south, located in the North Pacific
Ocean, roughly halfway between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa at 6°23′N 162°25′W.
It is the northernmost of the Northern Line Islands and lies 36 nautical miles (67 km)
northwest of the next closest island (Palmyra Atoll), and 930 nautical miles (1,720 km)
south of Honolulu.The reef encloses a lagoon up to 270 feet (82 m) deep in its western
part. The total area within the outer rim of the reef is 29 sq mi (75 km2). There are
two small strips of dry land composed of coral rubble and giant clamshells on the eastern
rim with areas of 2 and 1 acre (8,100 and 4,000 m2) having a coastline of 2 miles (3
km). The highest point on the reef is less than 5 feet (1.5 m) above sea level, which
is wetted or awash most of the time, making Kingman Reef a maritime hazard. It has no
natural resources and supports no economic activity.
== Political status == Kingman Reef has the status of an unincorporated
territory of the United States, administered from Washington, D.C. by the U.S. Department
of Interior. The atoll is closed to the public. For statistical purposes, Kingman Reef is
grouped as part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. In January 2009, Kingman
Reef was designated a marine national monument. The pre-20th century names Danger Reef, Caldew
Reef, Maria Shoal and Crane Shoal refer to this atoll, which by then was entirely submerged
at high tide. Thomas Hale Streets described its state in the 1870s, when it had:
... hardly, as yet, assumed the distinctive features of an island. It is entirely under
water at high tide, and but a few coral heads project here and there above the surface at
low water. In the course of time, however, it will undoubtedly be added to the [northern
Line Islands].
== History == Kingman Reef was discovered by the American
Captain Edmund Fanning of the ship Betsey on June 14, 1798. Captain W. E. Kingman (whose
name the island bears) described it on November 29, 1853. Kingman Reef was claimed in 1860
by the United States Guano Company, under the name "Danger Reef". This claim was made
under by the Guano Islands Act of 1856 although there is no evidence that guano existed or
was ever mined on Kingman Reef.Lorrin A. Thurston formally annexed Kingman to the United States
on May 10, 1922, by reading this declaration on shore:
Be it known to all people: That on the tenth of May, A.D. 1922, the undersigned agent of
the Island of Palmyra Copra Co., Ltd., landed from the motorship Palmyra doth, on this tenth
day of May, A.D. 1922, take formal possession of this island, called Kingman Reef, situated
in longitude 162 degrees 18' west and 6 degrees 23' north, on behalf of the United States
of America and claim the same for said company. On December 29, 1934, the US Navy assumed
jurisdiction over Kingman Reef. The lagoon was used in 1937 and 1938 as a halfway station
between Hawai'i and American Samoa by Pan American Airways flying boats (Sikorsky S-42B).
Pan Am wanted to expand flights into the Pacific and include Australia and New Zealand to their
"Clipper" air routes. In 1935 it was decided that the lagoon at Kingman Reef was suitable
for overnight stops en route from the U.S. to New Zealand via Samoa. Kingman Reef became
the stopover to and from Pago Pago, American Samoa, located 1,600 miles (2,600 km) further
south. A supply ship, the North Wind, was stationed at Kingman Reef to provide fuel,
lodging, and meals. The S42B Pan American Clipper II, piloted by Captain Edwin Musick,
landed at Kingman on its first flight on March 23, 1937. Several successful flights followed,
but the flight on January 11, 1938 ended in tragedy. Shortly after the early morning take
off from Pago Pago, bound for New Zealand, the Clipper exploded. The right outboard engine
had developed an oil leak and the plane burst into flames while dumping fuel; there were
no survivors. As a result of the tragedy, Pan Am ended flights to New Zealand via Kingman
Reef and Pago Pago. A new route was established in July 1940 by way of Canton Island and New
Caledonia. On February 14, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt
issued Executive Order 8682 to create naval defenses areas in the central Pacific territories.
The proclamation established "Kingman Reef Naval Defensive Sea Area" which encompassed
the territorial waters between the extreme high-water marks and the three-mile marine
boundaries surrounding the atoll. "Kingman Naval Airspace Reservation" was also established
to restrict access to the airspace over the naval defense sea area. Only U.S. government
ships and aircraft were permitted to enter the naval defense areas at Kingman Reef unless
authorized by the Secretary of the Navy.
== Ecology ==
Kingman Reef supports a vast variety of marine life. Giant clams are abundant in the shallows,
and there are approximately 38 genera and 130 species of stony corals present on the
reef. This is more than three times the species diversity of corals found in the main Hawaiian
Islands. The ecosystem of the reef and its subsequent food chain are known for the distinct
quality of being primarily predator-based. Sharks comprised 74% of the top predator biomass
(329 g m-2) at Kingman Reef and 57% at Palmyra Atoll (97 g m-2), low shark numbers have been
observed at Tabuaeran and Kiritimati. The percentage of the total fish biomass on the
reef is made up of 85% apex predators, creating a high level of competition for food and nutrients
among local organisms — particularly sharks, jacks, and other carnivores. The threatened
green sea turtles that frequent nearby Palmyra Atoll travel to Kingman Reef to forage and
bask on the coral rubble spits at low tide. However, above sea level, the reef is usually
barren of macroorganisms. Mainly constructed of dead and dried coral skeletons, providing
only calcite as a source of nutrients, the small and narrow strips of dry land are only
habitable by a handful of species for short periods of time. Most flora which begin to
grow above water — primarily coconut palms — die out quickly due to the fierce tides
and lack of resources necessary to sustain plant life.
== National Wildlife Refuge == On September 1, 2000, the Navy relinquished
its control over Kingman Reef to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. On January 18,
2001 Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt created the Kingman Reef National Wildlife
Refuge during his final days in office with Secretary's Order 3223. It is composed of
the emergent coral rubble spits and all waters out to 12 nautical miles (22 km). While there
are only 3 acres (0.012 km2) of land, 483,754 acres (1,957.68 km2) of water area is included
in the Refuge. Along with six other islands, the reef was administered as part of the Pacific
Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. In January 2009, that entity was upgraded
to the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument by President George W. Bush.
== Amateur radio expeditions == Since the early 1940s, Kingman Reef has had
very little human contact, though amateur radio operators from around the world have
occasionally visited the reef to put it "on the air" in what is known as a DX-pedition.
In 1974, a group of amateurs using the callsign KP6KR sailed to the reef and set up a temporary
radio station and antenna. Other groups visited the island in subsequent years, including
1977, 1980, 1981, 1988 and 1993. Most recently, a group of 15 amateur radio
operators from the Palmyra DX Group visited the reef in October 2000. Using the FCC-issued
special event callsign K5K, the group made more than 80,000 individual contacts with
amateurs around the world over a period of 10 days.Between November 15, 1945, and March
28, 2016, Kingman Reef was considered a discrete entity for the purpose of earning awards such
as the DX Century Club. A video shot by amateur radio operators traveling to the K5P DX-pedition
on Palmyra in January 2016 appears to show Kingman Reef mostly awash, raising questions
as to whether a future activation of Kingman Reef would be possible.On March 28, 2016,
the ARRL DXCC desk deleted Kingman Reef from the list of collectable entities effective
March 29, 2016, and deeming Kingman a part of the Palmyra and Jarvis entity due to proximity
of the islands and common administration of the islands by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
== See also == List of Guano Island claims
List of reefs
== References ==
== External links == Wikimedia Atlas of Kingman Reef
Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge K5K Amateur Radio Expedition to Kingman Reef
Kennedy Warne: "An Uneasy Eden" — National Geographic Magazine, July 2008