APPENDIX #11

TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES

TERRITORY OF AMERICAN SAMOA

Dependency Unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States.

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Dates:

Location:

Dependency
Status:

Dates:

Location:

Administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, Department of the Interior.

1899 treaty in which Germany and the United States divided the Samoan archipelago. The United States formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago the following year.

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand

BAKER ISLAND

Unincorporated territory of the United States.

Administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the
United States Department of the Interior as part of the
National Wildlife Refuge system

1857 - United States possession.

Late 1800s guano deposits were mined by United
States and British companies.

1935 attempt at colonization.

Present Day National Wildlife Refuge.

Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia

TERRITORY OF GUAM

GUAM

Dependency Organized, unincorporated territory of the United States

Status:

Dates:

Location:

Dependency
Status:

Dates:

Location:

Dependency
Status:

with policy relations between Guam and the United
States under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular
Affairs, Department of the Interior.

1898 - ceded to the United States by Spain.
1941 - captured by the Japanese.

1944 - retaken by the United States.

Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia.

HOWLAND Island

Unincorporated territory of the United States.

Administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the
Department of the Interior as part of the National
Wildlife Refuge system.

Early 1800s - Discovered by the United States.
1857 - Claimed by the United States.

1860-1890 -guano deposits were mined by United States
and British companies.

Present day - National Wildlife Refuge.

Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia.

JARVIS ISLAND

Unincorporated territory of the United States.

Administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the
Department of the Interior as part of the National
Wildlife Refuge system.

Dates:

Location:

Dependency
Status:

Dates:

Location:

1821 - discovered by Great Britain.

1858 - annexed by the United States.

1879 - abandoned by the United States after removal of guano.

1935 - annexed by Great Britain.

1935 United States occupied and claimed the island. After World War II - abandoned by the United States. Present Day - National Wildlife Refuge.

Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and the Cook Islands.

JOHNSTON ATOLL

Unincorporated territory of the United States.

Administered by Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system.

1858 - annexed by the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii.

1860s 1880s - United States mined guano.

1934 United States Navy maintained island.
1948 United States Air Force assumed control.

1950s 1960s used for high altitude nuclear tests.
1960s-2000 - maintained as a storage and disposal site for
chemical weapons.

Cleanup and closure of the facility is progressing, with
completion anticipated in 2004.

Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 NM (1328 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands.

KINGMAN REEF

Dependency Unincorporated territory of the United States.
Status:
Administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the
Department of the Interior

January 18, 2001 established Kingman Reef National
Wildlife Refuge to be administered by the Director, Fish
and Wildlife Service; this refuge is managed to protect the
terrestrial and aquatic wildlife of Kingman Reef out to the

Dates:

Location:

1922 - annexed by the United States.
1930s

served as a way station for flying boats on

Hawaii-to-American Samoa flights.

2001 - the waters surrounding the reef were designated a National Wildlife Refuge.

Oceania, reef in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa.

MIDWAY ISLANDS

Dependency Unincorporated territory of the United States.

Status:

Dates:

Location:

Administered by the US Navy, under Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific Division; this facility has been operationally closed since September 10, 1993; on October 31, 1996, through a presidential executive order, the jurisdiction and control of the atoll was transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system.

1935-1947 - Refuling stop for trans-Pacific flights.
1942 - United States victory over a Japanese fleet off
Midway was one of the turning points of World War II.
Until 1993 - served as a Naval station.

Present Day - National Wildlife Refuge.

From 1996 - 2001 - the refuge was open to the public. It is now temporarily closed

Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo.

NAVASSA ISLAND

Dependency Unincorporated territory of the United States.

Status:

Administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service,
Department of the Interior.

In September 1996, the Coast Guard ceased operations and
maintenance of Navassa Island Light, a 46-meter-tall
lighthouse on the southern side of the island; there has
also been a private claim advanced against the island.