Wake Island

Wake Island is an atoll (a type of island) in the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii. It is controlled by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It is a territory of the United States, part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. From December 1941 to August 1945 the Empire of Japan ruled Wake Island.

Wake Island

Map of Wake Island
Geography
Location	North Pacific
Coordinates	19°18′N 166°38′E
Total islands	3
Area	2.85 sq mi (7.4 km2)
Coastline	12.0 mi (19.3 km)
Highest elevation	20 ft (6 m)
Highest point	Ducks Point
Administration
United States Wake Island is under the administration of the United States Air Force
Demographics
Population	0 permanent, 100 temporary

Aerial overview of the atoll

Geography

Wake is located to the west of the International Date Line and sits in the Wake Island Time Zone, one day ahead of the 50 U.S. states.

Referring to the atoll as an island is the result of a pre-World War II desire by the United States Navy to distinguish Wake from other atolls, most of which were Japanese territory.

Population

There is no permanent population on Wake Island, so there are no schools for children. About 100 people live there at any given time, though. Most are contractors who keep the roads and other infrastructure working. One man has been there since 1991.

Other websites

• Current Weather, Wake Island
• AirNav – Wake Island Airfield – Airport details, facilities and navigational aids
• Rocket launches at Wake Island (link broken)
• The Defense of Wake – United States Marine Corps historical monograph
• Surrender of Wake by the Japanese – Marines in World War II
• U.S. Army Strategic and Missile Defense Command Archived 2016-12-08 at the Wayback Machine – Logistics, flight schedules, facilities
• Photographic history of the 1975 Vietnamese refugee camp on Wake Island
• Wake Island travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Wake Island – Pacific Wreck Database
• Wake Island (1942) on IMDb
• Wake Island: Alamo of the Pacific (2003) on IMDb