French Frigate Shoals
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The French Frigate Shoals (Hawaiian: KānemilohaTemplate:Okinai) is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, located about Template:Convert northwest of Honolulu. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals. It consists of a Template:Convert crescent-shaped reef, twelve sandbars, and the Template:Convert La Perouse Pinnacle, the only remnant of its volcanic origins. The total land area of the islets is Template:Convert, while the total coral reef area of the shoals is over Template:Convert. Tern Island, with an area of Template:Convert, has a landing strip and permanent habitations for a small number of people. It is maintained as a field station in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. East and Trig, the two largest islands after Tern, have mostly washed away. The islands are surrounded by a coral reef, and the islands themselves are noted breeding ground for turtles, seals, and birds. Habitation is difficult with little vegetation and no fresh water. The French Frigate Shoals are also called Lalo as part of the marine nature reserve, and along with other islands are visited periodically for research. The highest point in the shoals is on La Perouse Pinnacle, which is a volcanic rock that rises Template:Cvt above the surrounding lagoon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the 20th century, the shoals were used by the Imperial Japanese Navy as part of an operation to attack Hawaii. Afterwards, a small United States Navy base was established there to prevent it from being used again. After the war it was used by the United States Coast Guard for a LORAN radio navigation station. By the 21st century, it was primarily used for oceanographic and biological study as a nature reserve. Studies at the island helped establish the nature of plastic pollution, and in 2020 one island was designated as contaminated by plastic pollution from the ocean. The reefs are noted for having survived many Pacific storms, although these storms have damaged facilities, wildlife, and significantly reduced the area of some islands.
History
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The islands were discovered by the French in the late 18th century and were formally claimed by the United States in 1859 under the Guano Islands Act. The main focus of the USA was to administer the territory as a wildlife refuge, but it became involved in military events during WW2. The shoals were used by Japan as a staging point for their surprise attack on the Hawaiian Islands, but were then occupied by U.S. forces. A few months later, the shoals were again near the front lines in the battle of Midway. After that battle, one island, Tern, was made into an airstrip and base. East Island also had a base. After World War II, the shoals were turned over to Hawaii, and served several purposes. The shoals were used for a radio location base called LORAN, and the airstrip was used for fishing. A coast guard base was on the islands until 1979, and then the Fish and Wildlife Service until 2012. One issue was the Pacific storms that affect the islands. In the 21st century, the decayed Tern Island seawall was partially repaired, and in 2018 East Island was nearly washed away. In the 2020s, the shoals are a noted nature reserve, regularly visited for research on marine life, including coral, sharks, fish, seals, sea turtles, and many types of birds. There is also marine archeology conducted on sea wrecks, including a rare whaling vessel wreck.
Overview and early history
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Although there is no evidence of extensive human activity or presence in the area, the earliest human visitors to the French Frigate Shoals probably came from the main Hawaiian Islands, which were settled by Polynesians between 1100 and 1300 AD.<ref name="Marts">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Hawaiian island chain lay outside the routes followed by early European explorers, and it was not until Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse's near-disastrous discovery that the shoals were known to the outside world. La Pérouse, aboard the frigate Boussole, was sailing westward from Monterey en route to Macau. During the night of 6 November 1786, sailors sighted breakers directly in their path, about a thousand feet ahead. Both the Boussole and her companion vessel, the frigate Astrolabe, were immediately brought about, passing within a few hundred feet of the breakers. At daybreak, the ships returned and mapped the southeastern half of the atoll, as well as finding the rock that would later be named after La Pérouse. La Pérouse named the shoals Basse des Frégates Françaises, the "Shoal of the French Frigates".<ref name="Marts" />
The expedition went on to discover the nearby Necker Island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His ships were Astrolabe (under command of Fleuriot de Langle) and the Boussole.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> La Perouse was on a mission of exploration from the French Academy of Sciences, and they made many discoveries in across the Pacific.<ref name="www.biographi.ca">Template:Cite DCB</ref> The expedition was lost at sea in 1788 while still on the expedition, but was able to send its logs home.<ref name="www.biographi.ca" />
In 1823, the whaling ship Two Brothers sank near Shark Island.<ref name="Amerson-2012">Template:Cite book</ref> This wreck was discovered in the early 21st century.
In 1841 the French Frigate Shoals were visited by the United States Exploring Expedition authorized by President Andrew Jackson.<ref name="Amerson-2012" /> The shoals were visited by the sailing ships, brigs Oregon and Porpoise.<ref name="Amerson-2012" />
In 1859 the barque Gambia (a) and clipper Modern Times visited the French Frigate Shoals.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971">Template:Cite journal</ref> That same year the whaler South Seaman wrecked on the shoals.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> About a dozen of its crew were rescued by another vessel in the area, but about 30 were left on the island until another ship could retrieve them.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> In December 1859 the brig Wanderer was also lost on the shoals, but the crew was rescued.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
During the late 19th century American and European companies became interested in the possibility of mining guano in the Hawaiian Islands. U.S. Navy Lieutenant John M. Brooke, sailing on the naval schooner Template:USS, formally took possession of French Frigate Shoals for the United States on 14 January 1859, in accordance with the Guano Islands Act. In 1894, French Frigate Shoals, Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, and Pearl and Hermes Reef were leased for 25 years by the Republic of Hawaii to the North Pacific Phosphate and Fertilizer Company; however, guano and phosphate deposits at French Frigate Shoals were found to be impractical to mine. The Republic did not formally claim possession of the shoals until 13 July 1895.<ref name="Marts" />
French Frigate Shoals was included among the lands and waters acquired by the United States on 7 July 1898, when Hawaii became a United States territory. In 1909 it was made a part of the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation.
In 1896 the seal hunting ship Mattie E. Dyer wrecked on the shoals, and the crew abandoned ship in whaleboats. There was no water on the island they landed on among the shoals so they sailed the boats to Hawaii.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
Early 20th century
In 1902 the Albatross expedition visited the French Frigate Shoals and studied the birds.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> Several naturalists visited and published an ornithological report.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
In 1903 the ship Connétable de Richemont wrecked on the shoals, but its crew escaped on boats to mainland Hawaii.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
In 1909 the French Frigate Shoals became part of the Hawaiian Island Reservation and administered by the United States Department of Agriculture.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
In 1917 the four-masted schooner Churchill wrecked on the French Frigate Shoals.<ref name="sanctuaries.noaa.gov">Template:Cite web</ref> The crew of 12 survived.<ref name="sanctuaries.noaa.gov" />
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The Tanager Expedition visited the French Frigate Shoals in 1923 and did a survey of the islands.<ref name="Technical Support Document to The Preliminary Assessment of the FWS-2014" />
The United States Revenue Cutter Service sent many patrols to this region in the early 20th century.<ref name="Technical Support Document to The Preliminary Assessment of the FWS-2014" /> The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service vessel USRC Thetis visited the French Frigate Shoals in 1912, 1914, 1915, and 1916.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> In 1918 the shoals were inspected by the United States Navy ship USS Hermes.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> Shoal inspections in the 1920s and 1930s include ones by Template:USS in 1924, USRC Itasca in 1931 and 1934, and the United States Coast Guard vessel Template:USCGC in 1936.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
In 1932, the minesweeper Template:USS visited the shoals, anchoring near East Island.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> A seaplane tendered from the ship took some of the first aerial photographs of the islands.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
In 1936, the seaplane tender Template:USS came to the shoals, and established a base on East Island to support a month of seaplane operations.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1937, a member of a USN seaplane crew died at the French Frigate Shoals while his PK-1 seaplane was moored there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
World War II
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In March 1942, Imperial Japanese Navy planners took advantage of the shoal's isolation to use its protected waters as an anchorage and refueling point for the long-range flying boats employed in Operation K, a reconnaissance operation that aimed to disrupt salvage and repair operations following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The operation involved three IJN submarines and two Kawanishi H8K flying boats. It was the combat debut of the H8K.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The H8K flying boats stopped to refuel in the shoals from two of the submarines, Template:Jsub and Template:Jsub. After the operation, United States Pacific Fleet Commander Chester W. Nimitz ordered a permanent United States Navy presence at the shoals.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Some U.S. Navy ships that were stationed at the Shoals in 1942 were the seaplane tender Template:USS and the mine warfare ship Template:USS.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over twenty flying boats were operated from the French Frigate Shoals during World War II, typically flying reconnaissance missions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After the Battle of Midway, the United States Navy built a naval air station on Tern Island, enlarging the island sufficiently to support a Template:Convert landing strip, increasing its land area to Template:Convert. The station's main function was as an emergency landing site for planes flying between Hawaii and Midway Atoll. French Frigate Shoals Airport comprises what remains of the original naval air station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The ship YHB-10 arrived at French Frigate Shoals in August 1942, carrying staff to help establish the naval base there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was moored on the north side of Tern Island and used as a floating barracks.<ref name="Amerson-2012" /> On March 26, 1945, it was sunk as a torpedo practice target near the shoals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
United States Coast Guard station
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The United States Coast Guard operated a LORAN navigation station on East Island until 1952, and Tern Island until 1979. At any one time, 15 to 20 military personnel were billeted to French Frigate Shoals. As with all Coast Guard isolated duty stations, the Service attempted to fill open billets with volunteers. If there were no volunteers for essential billets, the Coast Guard would at times fill open slots as a disciplinary measure.
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The LORAN station commanding officer was typically a lieutenant junior grade officer, the executive officer a chief petty officer enlisted rank. The station was staffed with USCG enlisted specialists such as Radioman, Electronic Technician, Fireman, Boatswain's Mates, plus seaman or seaman apprentice nonrated service members (assigned to perform maintenance and other generalized duties).
The Coast Guard designated the French Frigate Shoals billet as "isolated duty", thereby entitling Coast Guard members serving at the station to additional monthly "isolated duty pay". Because of the billet's remoteness, a duty term was limited to one year.
In December 1969, a tsunami devastated the islands, forcing the crew on Tern Island to evacuate the station, which was destroyed. The station was off the air from 1 to 6 December.<ref name="loran">Template:Cite web</ref> The USCGC Kukui (WAK-186) was sent to help support repairs.
Whale-Skate Island washed away in the 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
21st century
A United States Fish and Wildlife Service field station was active at the island from 1979 to 2012.<ref name="Technical Support Document to The Preliminary Assessment of the FWS-2014" /><ref name="Scott-2004">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2000, the atoll became part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, which was incorporated into the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument in 2006. In 2009 the islands were evacuated during the approach of Hurricane Neki by landing a USCG C-130 on Tern's coral airstrip.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2000/1 the United States Congress approved US$10 million to repair the islands, one of the major issues being that the double-wall steel sea wall around Tern Island had deteriorated and was trapping sea life such as seals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 2004, the Army Corps of Engineers, with additional funding from the Fish & Wildlife Service, conducted a US$12 million project to repair the seawall and conduct other maintenance.<ref name="Scott-2004" /> This project repaired 1200 feet of seawall.<ref name="Scott-2004" /> The project was managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.<ref name="www.papahanaumokuakea.gov" /> However, the budget was only enough for about half of what was needed thus leaving sections unrepaired.<ref name="www.papahanaumokuakea.gov" />
In 2005, a wreck was found, possibly the wreck of the schooner Churchill, which ran aground at the French Frigate Shoals in 1917.<ref name="sanctuaries.noaa.gov"/> Maritime archeologists returned in 2007 and 2008 to try and identify the wreck site, which included items like anchors and equipment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2008 a shipwreck of a 19th-century whaling ship was found near Shark island.<ref name="Technical Support Document to The Preliminary Assessment of the FWS-2014" /> The wreck was identified in 2011 as the whaling sailing ship Two Brothers. The ship wrecked the night of February 11, 1823, under the command of Captain George Pollard Jr. (of Essex fame). The crew was able to be rescued by another whaling ship they were on the voyage with, Martha.<ref name="GleasonNantucket"> Template:Cite journal </ref><ref name="Philbrick208-210"> Template:Cite book </ref><ref name="NOAA_news"> Template:Cite web </ref> Captain Pollard is noted for inspiring the novel Moby Dick when his sailing ship the Essex was rammed by a whale.<ref name="US Department of Commerce">Template:Cite web</ref> The discovery was important in the field of maritime archeology for various reasons; there is only one surviving whaling ship from this period, and the wreck of the Two Brothers had been lost for nearly two centuries.<ref name="US Department of Commerce"/> The finding of the Two Brothers was the first discovery of a wrecked Nantucket whaling ship.<ref name="NOAA_news" />
At least five other vessels are recorded to have wrecked on the French Frigate Shoals between 1859 and 1917.<ref name="Technical Support Document to The Preliminary Assessment of the FWS-2014" />
In December 2012, five people were evacuated from the FFS in advance of a severe storm.<ref name="Papahanaumokuakea National Monument-2012">Template:Cite press release</ref> They departed by boat from Tern Island and travelled back to Honolulu.<ref name="Papahanaumokuakea National Monument-2012" /> The storm caused damage to some of the facilities on the island including the barracks.<ref name="Papahanaumokuakea National Monument-2012" /> The US Fish & Wildlife Service closed its field station on Tern Island at the end of 2012.<ref name="Technical Support Document to The Preliminary Assessment of the FWS-2014">Template:Cite report</ref> Since then, the island has only been visited periodically.
In 2016, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship conducted a 33-day survey expedition of the French Frigate Shoals, including reporting on the condition of the reefs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In October 2018, Hurricane Walaka eroded away most of East Island, the second largest island of the French Frigate Shoals.<ref name="east island">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Jacobs-2018">Template:Cite news</ref> About 11 acres of East Island were eliminated, which was thought to be caused by the large storm surge that Walaka caused in the area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The hurricane damaged many of the shoal's islands, and underwater many coral reefs were stripped of sea life.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following the destruction of East Island, researchers have been forced to make camp at the smaller Tern Island when conducting field work in the French Frigate Shoals.<ref name="Return to Lalo-2023">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2020, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project, working in conjunction with government agencies, removed tens of thousands of pounds of debris from the region.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 2020s, concerns about the decaying seawall on Tern Island trapping turtles and seals were brought to light. The double steel wall on the island has not been maintained; as a result, holes have rusted out.<ref name="Smithsonian Magazine">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2023 the NOAA visited the island for a research expedition along with other islands of the chain. The researchers camped on Tern Island and took trips to East Island where many turtle breeding grounds were located.<ref name="Return to Lalo-2023"/>
Geology and ecology
La Pèrouse Pinnacle, a rock outcrop in the center of the atoll, is the oldest and most remote volcanic rock in the Hawaiian chain. It stands Template:Convert tall and is surrounded by coral reefs. Because of its shape, the pinnacle is often mistaken for a ship from a distance.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Whale-Skate Island is a submerged island in the French Frigate Shoals. These islands suffered considerably from erosion starting in the 1960s, and by the late 1990s, Whale-Skate Island was completely washed over.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The reef system at French Frigate Shoals supports 41 species of stony corals, including several species that are not found in the main Hawaiian Island chain. More than 600 species of marine invertebrates, many of which are endemic, are found there as well.<ref name="www.papahanaumokuakea.gov">Template:Cite web</ref>
More than 150 species of algae live among the reefs. Especially diverse algal communities are found immediately adjacent to La Pèrouse Pinnacle. This has led to speculation that an influx of additional nutrients – in the form of guano – is responsible for the diversity and productivity of algae in this environment.<ref name="www.papahanaumokuakea.gov" /> The reef waters support large numbers of fish. The masked angelfish (Genicanthus personatus), endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, is relatively common there. Most of Hawaii's green sea turtles travel to the shoals to nest. The small islets of French Frigate Shoals provide refuge to the largest surviving population of Hawaiian monk seals, the second most endangered pinniped in the world.<ref name="Scott-2004" />
The islands are also an important seabird colony. Eighteen species of seabird, the black-footed albatross, Laysan albatross, Bonin petrel, Bulwer's petrel, wedge-tailed shearwater, Christmas shearwater, Tristram's storm petrel, red-tailed tropicbird, masked booby, red-footed booby, brown booby, great frigatebird, spectacled tern, sooty tern, blue-gray noddy, brown noddy, black noddy and white tern nest on the islands, most of them (16) on Tern Island. Two species, the blue-gray noddy and the brown booby, nest only on La Pèrouse Pinnacle. The island also is the wintering ground for several species of shorebird.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Technical Support Document to The Preliminary Assessment of the FWS-2014" />
After the Battle of Midway in WWII, Tern Island was made into an airstrip, nicknamed the "coral carrier" and would be between Midway Island and the main Hawaiian island. Tern Island was protected by thousands of feet of double wall steel sea wall, which has kept it stable in size. However, by 2000 the seawall was trapping marine life and Congress authorized some repair work. The seawall is noted for trapping seals because there are holes where life gets into the gap between the two walls but cannot escape.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Smithsonian Magazine"/><ref name="www.papahanaumokuakea.gov" /> In 2023, the entrapment of seals in the decayed seawall was noted during a visit to the island.<ref name="Return to Lalo-2023"/>
A three-week research mission in October 2006 by the NOAA led to the discovery of 100 species never seen in the area before, including many that were new to science. The French Frigate Shoals project was part of the Census of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the Census of Marine Life.<ref name="ucsdnews.ucsd.edu">Template:Cite web</ref> In addition to scientific analysis, a National Geographic photographer was also on board.<ref name="ucsdnews.ucsd.edu" /> The photographer noted the range of vibrant colors and shapes among the coral life.<ref name="ucsdnews.ucsd.edu" /> Jim Maragos, an expert on coral life in this region of ocean estimated they discovered 11 new species of coral.<ref name="ucsdnews.ucsd.edu" />
The shark population and type was studied in 2009, and it was determined that some of the species in the area include galapagos sharks, gray reef sharks, and tiger sharks.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The activity of Tiger and Galapagos sharks at the shoals was studied, in particular their interaction with monk seal pups, though the study was hampered by a shark cull intended to protect seal pups leading to an inconclusive result.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Due to a miscommunication, the study was undertaken in part to study if a shark cull would be worthwhile to protect endangered monk seals, but in fact a cull took place at the same time a study was being conducted, leading to various difficulties including that sharked that had been tracked with a transmitter could be killed.<ref name=":0" /> Tiger sharks are also thought to eat young albatross, and the study also explored the seasonal timing of shark activity.<ref name=":0" />
Whale-Skate and Trig Islands were noted as monk seal pupping areas, though they have suffered strong erosion.<ref name="localhost-2018">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Clear
Coral
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Coral species found in the French Frigate Shoals between 1907 and 2006, as reported in a 2011 paper by Brainard et al.:<ref name="Technical Support Document to The Preliminary Assessment of the FWS-2014" /> Template:Div col
- Coral unidentified, sp.18
- L. incrustans
- P. eydouxi
- Acropora cerealis
- L. sp.22 cf. incrustans
- P. sp.10 cf. laysanesis
- Acropora gemmifera
- L. mycetoseroides
- P. ligulata
- A. humilis
- L. cf. papyracea sp19
- Pocillopora meandrina
- A. nasuta
- L. cf. scabra sp17
- P. molokensis
- A. paniculata
- Pavona duerdeni
- P. sp.32 cf. verrucosa
- A. sp.1 (prostrate)
- P. maldivensis
- P. sp.33 cf. zelli
- A. sp.28 cf. retusa
- P. varians
- P. sp.11 cf. capitata
- A. valida
- Balanophyllia sp. (pink)
- P. sp. 15 (paliform lobes)
- A. sp.29 (table)
- Cladopsammia eguchii
- Porites brighami
- A. sp.30 cf. palmerae
- Tabastraea coccinea
- Porites compressa
- A. sp. 20 (neoplasia/tumor?)
- Cyphastrea ocellina
- P. sp.23 (arthritic fingers)
- A. sp.26 cf. loripes
- Leptastrea agassizi
- P. duerdeni
- Montipora capitata
- 'L. bewickensis
- P. evermanni
- M. flabellate
- L. purpurea
- P. hawaiiensis
- M. patula
- L. pruinosa
- Porites lobata
- M. sp.4 cf. incrassate
- L. sp.8 cf. ?
- F. hawaiiensis
- P. sp.21 cf. lobata
- M. sp.7 (foliaceous)
- Cycloseris tenuis
- P. sp. 16 cf. lutea
- M. tuberculosa
- C. vaughani
- P. sp.27 (columns)
- M. sp.24 (irregular)
- Diaseris distorta
- P. sp.13 cf. solida
- M. verrilli
- Fungia scutaria
- Psammocora nierstraszi
- Leptoseris hawaiiensis
- Pocillopora damicornis
- P. stellate
Islands
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The three biggest islands were Tern, East, and Trig Islands. However, by the 2020s both East and Trig Island had mostly washed away. Tern and East had been home to naval and/or Coast Guard bases in the late 20th century. Since 2012, Tern Island has not been occupied but is still routinely visited for trash cleanup and research. Tern is protected by a large steel seawall built during World War II. One island that also has remained constant is La Perouse Pinnacle, which is dense volcanic rock and is also the tallest point in the group. The islands have gone through several administrative changes in the 20th century shifting from hunting area for sea turtles, to military uses, then later on more of science and nature reserve. The largest remaining island is Tern, and the pinnacle is also fixed. Other islands can be washed away by storms.
| Island | Census- block |
Original area m2 |
Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shark Island | 1010 | 4,294 | Template:Coord |
| Tern Island | 1009 | 105,276 | |
| Trig Island | 1008 | 23,298 | |
| Skate Island 1) | 1007 | 12,808 | |
| Whale Island 1) | 1007 | 19,212 | |
| Disappearing Island | 1002 | 9,800 | |
| Little Gin Island | 1003 | 19,448 | |
| Gin Island | 1004 | 9,708 | |
| Near Island 2) | - | 400 | Template:Coord |
| Bare Island 3) | - | 400 | |
| East Island 4) | 1005 | 35,853 | |
| Mullet Island 5) | 1006 | 2,462 | |
| Round Island 5) | 1006 | 3,078 | |
| La Perouse Pinnacle | 1011 | 3,677 |
1) Whale-Skate Island, currently a double island, is also listed in the census documents together as a block, with an area of Template:Cvt. The shares of the islands are estimated 40% and 60%.
2) 1971 it was reported that Near Island, although recorded on maps, would be submerged at high tide.
3) Bare Island can be seen on satellite images but<ref># lat = 23.792563 & lon = -166.2015957 & z = 19 & l = 5 & m = b Bare in Iceland satellite image. Here, the length and width of about Template:Cvt and Template:Cvt are measured, or in an area of approximately Template:Cvt.</ref> is not listed in the Census Tract.<ref>PDF bei www.statecountymaps.com Template:Webarchive</ref> A 1971 publication says Bare Island has an area of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
4) As of October 2018, East Island has mostly submerged.<ref name="east island"/><ref name="Jacobs-2018"/>
5) Round and Mullet Islands in census documents found together as a block 1006, together with an area of Template:Cvt. The shares are valued according to a report from 1971 (Template:Cvt).
The two major islands of the French Frigate shoals were Tern Island and East Island, and there is also a tall rock pinnacle. Many of the smaller islands have been washed over, and finally in 2018 East Island was largely washed away. Tern Island is protected by a seawall that originates from when it was expanded in the 1940s to become a naval air base.
Islands known to have been notably washed away or reduced by 2018 include Whale-Skate, Trig, and East Island.<ref name="localhost-2018"/> In the 2020s East Island is reported to be about half its former size.<ref name="Return to Lalo-2023"/>
Trig Island
Trig Island is located at 23'52'N, 166'15', and is about 10 acres of area of which approximately Template:Convert have vegetation.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> The island is about Template:Convert long and between Template:Convert wide.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> However, the island is known to have weathered considerably between the 1930s and 1960s.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> It was surveyed several times in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> In the early surveys it was noted as the highest of French Frigate Shoals' islands rising to Template:Convert above sea level.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> By 2018 it was mostly washed away.<ref name="localhost-2018"/>
Whale-Skate Island
Whale-Skate Island used to be two separate islands but were combined by a sand bar in the 20th century.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> Whale-Skate Island was about Template:Convert long and Template:Convert.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
In 1923 they were surveyed as two separate islands, Whale Island and Skate Island.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" /> In the 1950s it was noted they had been connected by a sand bar several feet high.<ref name="Amerson, Jr-1971" />
In the 1980s, Whale-Skate Island was about Template:Convert, and was noted as a pupping area for seals.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
La Perouse Pinnacle
Template:Main La Perouse Pinnacle is a volcanic pinnacle approximately Template:Convert west southwest of East Island (Hawaii).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the oldest and most remote volcanic rock in the Hawaiian Islands. La Pèrouse Pinnacle stands Template:Convert tall. It is surrounded by coral reefs and a shorter, rocky islet about Template:Convert tall. Because of its distinct shape, the pinnacle can be mistaken for a ship from a distance.
It has been called a "volcanic rock islet" and is known for its central position in the French Frigate Shoals between north and south sides of the atoll.<ref name="U.S. Government Printing Office">Template:Cite book</ref> The pinnacle is visible from a distance of about 8 miles (12.8 km) away at sea.<ref name="U.S. Government Printing Office"/>
The rock is named for Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, who came across the shoals in 1786.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="papahanaumokuakea.gov">Template:Cite web</ref>
The pinnacle is composed mainly of very hard basalt rock, and the island is thought to be the remains of a volcano from millions of years ago.<ref name="papahanaumokuakea.gov"/>
In 1923 on the Tanager expedition it was visited and determined to be olivine basalt rock.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The pinnacle's resemblance to a sailing ship at distance nearly caused the wrecking of the sailing ship Rebecca in the 19th century.<ref name="James Imray & Son">Template:Cite book</ref> The whaling ship Rebecca sighted the pinnacle at nightfall, but mistook it for a sailing ship and tried to signal with it.<ref name="James Imray & Son"/> When the signals were not returned the Rebecca headed towards the ship to investigate, but soon ran into the reef.<ref name="James Imray & Son"/> The ship survived the encounter with the shoals, and was able to ascertain the nature of the Pinnacle in the morning.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Locations
See also
- List of Guano Island claims
- List of reefs
- List of islands
- Desert island
- Midway Island (the next Island to the west with a airstrip)
- Wake Island (Southwest with airstrip)
References
Bibliography
External links
- The French Frigate Shoals Web Page
- Quick Facts on French Frigate Shoals from the PBS Ocean Adventures site
- Pages with broken file links
- French Frigate Shoals
- Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
- Coral reefs of the United States
- Atolls of Hawaii
- Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain
- Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act
- Reefs of the Pacific Ocean
- Reefs of the United States
- Seabird colonies
- Miocene volcanoes
- Paleogene Oceania
- Cenozoic Hawaii
- Important Bird Areas of Hawaii
- Shoals of Oceania