Midway Atoll
Roughly 28 million years ago, the seabed beneath what is now Midway Atoll sat directly over a volcanic hotspot. This same geological feature currently forms the Island of Hawaii today. The landmass began as a massive shield volcano, potentially reaching the size of Lanai. Lava flows built the island upward until its weight caused the crust to sink. This slow process of subsidence continued for millions of years under the force of gravity.
As the volcanic island sank, a coral reef grew upward around it to stay near sea level. That ancient reef structure now extends more than 1,500 feet deep into the ocean. Today the atoll spans approximately eight miles across and sits in shallow water. It remains the second most northerly atoll on Earth after Kure Atoll. The current landscape consists of three main islands: Sand Island, Eastern Island, and Spit Island. These landforms form an incomplete circle around a central lagoon.
Captain N.C. Brooks sighted the atoll on the 5th of July 1859 while commanding the sealing ship Gambia. He claimed the land for the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. No records exist showing anyone actually mined guano from these shores. Captain William Reynolds formally took possession again on the 28th of August 1867 aboard his vessel. The name Midway emerged sometime after this official claim.
The first attempt to settle the island began in 1870 when the Pacific Mail Steamship Company started dredging a channel through the reef. Congress funded the project to create a coaling station that would avoid Hawaiian port taxes. The effort failed completely and the company evacuated its workforce by October 1870. A supply ship named Saginaw ran aground on Kure Atoll on October 21, stranding 93 men inside the wreckage.
Five crew members launched a small boat on November 18 to seek help. Four of them died when their boat capsized off Kauai on December 19. Only one survivor reached the U.S. Consulate in Honolulu on Christmas Eve. Relief ships finally arrived at Kure Atoll on the 4th of January 1871. The remaining survivors reached Honolulu on the 14th of January 1871.
Tensions with Japan rose sharply beginning in 1940, making Midway second only to Pearl Harbor for West Coast defense. Airstrips, gun emplacements, and a seaplane base appeared quickly across the tiny landmass. On the 7th of December 1941, two destroyers bombarded the island following the attack on Pearl Harbor. This marked the first bombardment of Midway during the war.
A Japanese submarine attacked again on the 10th of February 1942, bringing the total number of attacks to four within two months. Four months later, on the 4th of June 1942, a major naval battle erupted near the atoll. United States Navy forces sank four Japanese fleet aircraft carriers: Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu. Hundreds of Japanese aircraft were also destroyed in the engagement.
The U.S. lost one carrier, the Yorktown, along with many land-based planes shot down or bombed on the ground. This defeat ended Imperial Japanese Navy control over the Pacific Ocean according to most historical accounts. Starting in July 1942, a submarine tender remained stationed at the atoll to support patrols. A floating dry dock joined the operation in 1944.
From the 1st of July 1954 until February 1971, Eastern Island hosted the Naval Security Group Activity Midway Island. This facility operated the AN/GRD-6 High-Frequency Direction Finding system across the Pacific. The equipment featured antenna arrays covering frequencies between 2 and 32 MHz. Circular copper wire mesh mats buried beneath each array ensured consistent performance regardless of local soil conditions.
Data collected by this system supported U.S. Navy signals intelligence efforts throughout the Cold War era. Another secret installation called Naval Facility Midway became operational in 1968. It used Low-Frequency Analyzer and Recorder technology to track Soviet submarines via the Sound Surveillance System. The facility remained classified until its decommissioning on the 30th of September 1983.
The Navy installed the Missile Impact Location System between 1958 and 1960 to locate test missile splashdowns. This infrastructure included target arrays for precision location and broad ocean area systems positioned outside the target zone. Other Pacific terminals existed at Kaneohe Bay, Wake Island, and Eniwetok. These facilities supported intercontinental ballistic missile testing programs across the region.
President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13022 on the 31st of October 1996 transferring jurisdiction to the Department of the Interior. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service assumed management of the refuge shortly after. The last contingent of Navy personnel departed on the 30th of June 1997 following an environmental cleanup program. The National Register of Historic Places listed World War II facilities on the 28th of May 1987.
Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt designated the site as the Battle of Midway National Memorial on the 13th of September 2000. President George W. Bush expanded protections further by designating the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a national monument on the 15th of June 2006. That monument now encompasses over 58 million acres including coral reef habitat. In 2007, the name changed to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permitted amateur radio operations again in 2009 for the first time since 2002. A team of 19 operators activated the atoll for ten days using multiple frequencies. This initiative aimed to encourage visitors to experience local wildlife and history through communication with enthusiasts worldwide.
Midway Atoll forms part of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Important Bird Area designated by BirdLife International. Seventeen seabird species breed within its boundaries today. The location holds between 67 and 70 percent of the world's Laysan albatross population. It also contains 34 to 39 percent of the global black-footed albatross population.
Fewer than 2,200 short-tailed albatross individuals exist due to excessive feather hunting in the late nineteenth century. Scientists translocated 42 endangered Laysan ducks to the atoll during 2007 and 2008. Over 250 marine species inhabit the lagoon and surrounding waters including critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals.
Green sea turtles occasionally nest on the island with the first found in 2006 on Spit Island. A resident pod of 300 spinner dolphins lives in the lagoons and nearshore waters. Lead paint on buildings posed an environmental hazard causing avian lead poisoning until a stripping project finished in 2018. Recent efforts focus on removing non-native plant species from the 200 total species present.
Approximately 20 tons of marine debris accumulate on Midway beaches every year according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates. This garbage consists of 90 percent plastic washed up from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. About five tons of this material gets fed to albatross chicks by their parents each year.
Nearly all of the 1.5 million Laysan albatrosses inhabiting Midway during winter breeding seasons contain plastic in their digestive systems. Approximately one-third of the chicks die because they confuse brightly colored plastic with squid or fish. Albatross chicks cannot regurgitate foreign objects until four months old so they cannot expel the debris.
An adult albatross living on Midway can have up to 50 percent of its intestinal tract filled with plastic. Various items wash upon shores ranging from cigarette lighters to toothbrushes and toys. Sea turtles and monk seals also consume the debris found along the coastline. Scientists do not believe the 2011 tsunami will cause long-term negative impacts despite killing more than 110,000 nesting seabirds that March.
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Common questions
When was Midway Atoll first sighted by Captain N.C. Brooks?
Captain N.C. Brooks sighted the atoll on the 5th of July 1859 while commanding the sealing ship Gambia.
What happened during the Battle of Midway on the 4th of June 1942?
United States Navy forces sank four Japanese fleet aircraft carriers named Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu during the engagement.
Who manages Midway Atoll after the Navy departed in 1997?
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service assumed management of the refuge following an environmental cleanup program that ended on the 30th of June 1997.
How many Laysan albatrosses breed on Midway Atoll today?
Seventeen seabird species breed within its boundaries today including a population holding between 67 and 70 percent of the world's Laysan albatross.
Why do albatross chicks die from plastic ingestion on Midway beaches?
Approximately one-third of the chicks die because they confuse brightly colored plastic with squid or fish since they cannot regurgitate foreign objects until four months old.