Wake Island ( /ˈweɪk/; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll having a coastline of 12 miles (19 km) in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way between Honolulu, 2,300 statute miles (3,700 km) to the east and Guam, 1,510 statute miles (2,430 km) to the west. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Access to the island is restricted, and all activities on the island are managed by the United States Air Force. There is also a missile facility operated by the United States Army. The largest island, Wake Island, is the center of activity on the atoll and is the location of Wake Island Airfield (IATA: AWK, ICAO: PWAK), which has a 9,800-foot (3,000 m) runway.
On January 6, 2009, President George W. Bush included the atoll as a part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. For statistical purposes, Wake is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
Read more about Wake Island: Geography, Protected Statuses, Territorial Claim By The Marshall Islands, Popular Cultural References
Famous quotes containing the words wake and/or island:
“People who have realized that this is a dream imagine that it is easy to wake up, and are angry with those who continue sleeping, not considering that the whole world that environs them does not permit them to wake. Life proceeds as a series of optical illusions, artificial needs and imaginary sensations.”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry the “big canoe” of the European rolling through the blue waters towards their shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, and with open arms stand ready to embrace the strangers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosoms the vipers whose sting is destined to poison all their joys; and the instinctive feeling of love within their breasts is soon converted into the bitterest hate.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)