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AN UNKNOWN WORLD IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC
To see photographs of marine animals of the Northwestern Islands, scroll to the bottom of the page where there are links to photos of birds, seals, sea turtles, fishes, whales, dolphins and sharks - or you may click here.
The Leeward Islands of Hawaii, which are also called the Northwestern Islands of Hawaii, are located north and west of Kauai and Niihau. In Europe the Hawaiian Islands were at one time called the Sandwich Islands named for the Earl of Sandwich who was the patron of Captain James Cook and for whom the word "sandwich" was named. The Leeward Islands begin in the northwest with Kure and Midway and end in the southeast with Nihoa and Lehue. In the most extreme northwest corner of the Hawaiian archipelago are Kure and Midway which are frequently called islands, but, they are really atolls. Kure is the northernmost coral atoll in the world. Midway was once the size of Lanai, but sunk back into the ocean due to what is called isostatic adjustment, leaving a coral reef ringing the former boundries.
For the past 50 million years the Pacific Plate has slowly crept over a stationary plume of magma deep in the Earth's mantle, allowing the formation of a chain of islands that today comprise the most remote, large scale coral reef ecosystem on the planet. The region, known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, stretches 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) toward Asia from the main Hawaiian Islands and is home to a thriving marine ecosystem full of unique, or endemic, species. Many of the corals, fishes, sea birds, and mammals that are found there are found nowhere else in the world. The Hawaiian Islands are isolated from the rest of the coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific Ocean. Of the few species that have reached the islands, several have mutated and evolved to creatures that are unique to Hawaii. Generally speaking, 25 percent of all coral reef species in the islands can be found nowhere else on the planet.
Midway is the only portion of the Northwestern Islands that is not under the jurisdiction of the State of Hawaii, but rather the federal government of the United States. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the safekeeping of Midway, which is now an American nature preserve and home to millions of plants and animals, many of which are unique to this part of the world and cannot be found anywhere else on earth.
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, or the Leeward Hawaiian Islands, combined have about as much land as Honolulu International Airport (8.2 Square kilometers), however they stretch over 1,200 miles from northwest to southeast and are about 100 miles wide in most places, meaning they cover over 9,000 square kilometers, which is almost as large as the Big Island of Hawaii. These reefs account for more than 70% of the coral reefs in the United States.
The first scientific expeditions to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were in the early 1920s. The Tanager Expeditions took their name from the converted First World War minesweeper, the Tanager that took the scientists from Honolulu to the western end of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Afterward they traveled throughout the Pacific, visiting the Marshall Islands and the Line Islands.
In this little-known part of the world, the living coral reef colonies of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are a spectacular underwater landscape where invertebrate animals and algae have constructed massive structures in the shallow seas which are the foundation of an ecosystem that hosts more than 7,000 species, including marine mammals, fishes, sea turtles, birds and invertebrates. "Honu" is the Hawaiian word for "turtle". Beyond biological significance, the area boasts a rich cultural history. During their Trans-Pacific voyages, ancient Polynesians sailed these waters and used these islands for centuries as places of residence and worship.
On June 15, 2006, President George W. Bush signed Presidential Proclamation 8031 that created the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. On March 2, 2007, it was renamed "Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument". The monument is managed by the United States Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in close coordination with the State of Hawaii. Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is the largest nature preserve in the world. The 140,000-square-mile monument with 2.7 million acres of coral reef, is home to endangered Hawaiian monk seals, threatened green sea turtles, 14 million nesting seabirds and 7,000 species of marine animals -- a quarter of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Prominent species include the threatened Green Sea Turtles and the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals, the Laysan and Nihoa Finches, the Nihoa Millerbirds, Laysan Ducks and seabirds such as the Laysan Albatrosses. Seventy percent of the coral in the United States lies in the Leeward Hawaiian Islands.
The name, Papahanaumokuakea, reflects Hawaiian mythology relating to the birth and genealogy of the Hawaiian Islands. Papahanaumoku, according to legend, is the goddess who gave birth to the Hawaiian Islands and her husband was Wakea.
Governor Linda Lingle and the State of Hawaii have demonstrated strong support for the protection of the NWHI. In September 2005, after a three-and-a-half-year public process that resulted in more than 25,000 public comments, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle established a State Marine Refuge in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that set aside all State waters as a limited access, no-take marine protected area. This created the largest marine conservation area in the history of the State of Hawaii, protecting 1,026 square miles of coral reefs from the shoreline to three miles offshore. The Lingle Administration also worked closely with the federal government to ensure similar protections at the national level, which culminated with the President's designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a marine national monument on June 15, 2006. Looking to the future, the Lingle Administration began to proactively pursue the designation of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument as a World Heritage Site. Fewer than 150 sites on the planet have been granted this internationally significant designation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Leeward Islands of Hawaii are one of the last frontiers on the planet where few people go or have ever visited and nature exists unspoiled by human advancement.
THE NORTHWESTERN ISLANDS OF HAWAII
ALSO KNOWN AS
THE LEEWARD ISLANDS OF HAWAII
AND THE LEEWARD HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
WHICH COMPRISE PAPAHANAUMOKUAKEA MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT
Maps of the ten most prominent areas of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are shown below. On the maps of the islands, the highest elevations are shown by black dots "•" and the high points are shown in feet above sea level. For instance, in the map of Kure below, the highpoint is 20 feet on Green Island.
• KURE ATOLL - Kure Atoll, (sometimes called Kure Island) called Moku Papapa by native Hawaiians, is the most remote of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the farthest north coral atoll in the world. Kure is an oval-shaped atoll, which is 6 miles wide at its maximum diameter and 55 miles west-northwest of Midway Atoll at the extreme northwest end of the Hawaiian archipelago. Green Island is the only permanent island in the atoll and also has the highest elevation in Kure Atoll at 20 feet. The island is a nesting area for shearwaters, petrels, tropicbirds, boobies, frigatebirds, albatrosses, terns and noddies. It is also a wintering area for a variety of migratory bird species from North America and Asia. The first known visit to Kure Atoll was in 1825, by Captain Benjamin Morrell, Jr. of the schooner Tartar, who stayed at Kure Atoll for two days. In 1827 the Russian ship Moller, under Captain Stanikowitch re-discovered the Atoll for the Western World and named the small hazardous atoll, "Cure Island" which later became Kure Atoll. Prior to 1827 Kure Atoll was visited by a half a dozen ships, and given a new name after each visit. Beginning in 1837, numerous ships have run aground on the reefs at Kure and crews were stranded on the atoll for up to nine months at a time, eating monk seals, turtles and seabirds to survive. On September 20, 1886, the ship Waialeale arrived at Kure and James Boyd took possession of the island in the name of King Kaläkaua and the Hawaiian Kingdom. The ship's crew built a shack and left provisions and water tanks for shipwrecked sailors. Between 1876 and 1936 the Australian Copra & Guano Ltd mined guano from the Kure islands. In 1894 the island was also leased to another firm for guano mining, but no mining was ever done by that company. Kure Atoll was acquired by the United States of America as part of the Territory of Hawaii on July 7, 1898. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt made Kure part of the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation, reserving the atoll for the Department of Agriculture as a preserve for native birds. Despite its northern location and relatively cool waters, the aquatic habitats of Kure house a diversity of corals and large invertebrates such as echinoderms, crustacea and mollusks. Twenty seven species of stony corals have been documented at Kure and the atoll has almost 80,000 acres of coral reef habitat. The turquoise waters of the lagoon and near-shore reefs support large schools of dolphins, jacks, sharks, goatfish and chub as well as dragon morays, (dragon eels are moray eels) knifejaws, masked angelfish and rare native grouper. Recent aquatic surveys have identified rare fish species and behaviors seldom seen in the main Hawaiian Islands. Kure Atoll is an important pupping and resting area for Hawaiian Monk seals. The monk seal population size at Kure is currently about 100-125 animals. Problems facing the atoll include threats from marine debris. The atoll lies in the path of a major Pacific current, resulting in tons of fishing nets and debris washing up on the reefs and beaches, which pose an entanglement hazard for monk seals, turtles, seabirds, fish and lobsters. Hawaiian Monk Seals have become a critically endangered species numbering about 1,200, but the population is expected to drop below 1,000 in the next five years. For More Information about Hawaii's Critically Engangered Monk Seals, Click here. Bathymetry is depth below sea level; Topography is elevation above sea level. Topographic maps show the elevations above sea level, while bathymetric maps show the depths below sea level. Bathymetric maps usually list depths in fathoms. A fathom is six feet or 1.83 meters. To see a bathymetric map of Kure Atoll, click here.
• MIDWAY ATOLL - Midway Atoll, (frequently referred to as Midway Island and Midway Islands)) which is called Pihemanu by the Hawaiians, has three small islets on its southeast end, Sand Island, Gooney Spit Island (sometimes shortened to just "Spit Island") and Eastern Island. The islets have a combined size of about 1,535 acres. - Midway was the last of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to be discovered. Captain N.C. Brooks sailing on the Gambia claimed Midway Atoll and its islands for the United States in 1859. Midway was the first island possession claimed by the U. S. which was outside the North American continent. It was originally named Middlebrooks. Perhaps the name was changed since there are no brooks there, middle or otherwise. Midway, the best known of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or Leeward Islands of Hawaii, is a circular-shaped atoll with three small islets on the southern end of a lagoon. While its land area is small, about 1,535 acres, the atoll has approximately 85,929 acres of reef area. People visited Midway during the late 1800s primarily to collect feathers and eggs. Through the early 1900s, the United States recognized this "stepping stone across the Pacific" as a critical link for round-the-world communications and as a stop over for Pan American seaplanes. During World War II, Midway became a major U.S. military base. The atoll was attacked twice, once on December 7, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and again during the pivotal Battle of Midway, which turned the tide of the War in America's favor. In the year 2000, Midway Atoll was designated as the National Memorial to the Battle of Midway. In 1996, the once strategic naval base was turned over to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to be managed as Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. A massive U.S. Navy clean up prior to their departure removed tons of debris, leaky fuel tanks and lead based paint as well as rats. Today a fulltime refuge staff administers a small visitor program, cares for Midway's wildlife, restores native plant life, and protects historic resources. Nearly two million birds of 19 species nest on Midway. The atoll has the largest Laysan albatross colony in the world. Other birds include black-footed albatross, red-tailed tropicbirds, white terns, black and brown noddies, shearwaters, and Bonin petrels. One of the rarest visitors is the endangered short-tailed albatross. Three-fourths of Midway's plant species were introductions from other parts of the world. These include weeds, ornamental shrubs, exotic vegetables and trees such as coconut palms and ironwood. Major efforts are underway to control alien species and restore native habitats. The waters abound with dolphins, monk seals and green sea turtles. More than 250 species of fish live in Midway Atoll's waters, including hapuupuu, (the rare Hawaiian grouper) ulua, kumu (goatfish) and sharks. Beyond the reefs are deep-water ocean or pelagic fishes such as tuna and marlin. Despite 100 years of human impact, the reef at Midway is rich and diverse. Sixteen species of stony coral have been reported, and scientists believe there may be many more. Marine habitats, including spurs, grooves, and sand channels, are home to several algaes, seagrass meadows, urchins, bi-valve clams and sponges as well as many other species. Bathymetry is depth below sea level, bathymetric maps show the depths below sea level. To see a bathymetric map of Midway Atoll, click here. To visit the official Midway Website, click here.
• MARO REEF - Maro Reef, called koanakoa by the Hawaiians, is a largely submerged atoll with only about 1 acre of land that is sometimes underwater. The surrounding reef habitat is enormous. Maro Reef is the largest single coral reef system in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with approximately 746 square miles, over 1,934 square kilometers or 478,000 acres of reef area. Unlike the classic ring-shaped atoll, Maro is a complex maze of linear reefs that radiate out from the center like the spokes of a wheel. Maro is named after the whaling brig Maro, which traveled these waters in 1820 under the command of Captain Joseph Allen. Maro Reef is very large and hard to navigate, making it difficult for scientists to study. To see a bathymetric map of Maro Reef, click here. Maro Reef has a greater abundance and diversity of coral than most any other reef system in the Northwestern Hawaiian Island chain with thirty-seven species of stony corals. Maro Reef has a large amount of the hard, pink crusty algae that grows on coral called "coralline algae" that acts like cement and holds the coral together in high surf. The reefs support numerous butterflyfish and surgeonfish species. Large ulua and omilu have been seen in the reef's open waters, along with white-tip and gray reef sharks. Maro is home to a number of Hawaiian monk seals.
• PEARL and HERMES ATOLL - Pearl and Hermes Atoll, called Holoikauaua by the Hawaiians, is made up of seven islets that are so low that they are occasionally covered with water. It was discovered on April 26, 1822 when two English whaling ships, the Pearl and the Hermes, were wrecked there during a storm. In 1854, King Kamehameha III claimed the atoll. The sandbar islets support coastal dry grasses, vines, and herbal plants, including 13 native species and 7 introduced species. The plants survive because they are salt-tolerant and able to recover from frequent flooding events. Black-lipped pearl oysters, at one time very common, were harvested in the late 1920s to make buttons from their shells. Over-harvested, the oysters were nearly eliminated, and today only a handful remain even long after their harvesting was declared illegal in 1929. Since the atoll's land base is small, it was largely spared the ravages of miners and feather hunters. Pearl and Hermes Atoll is a true atoll that is primarily underwater and has numerous islets, seven of which are usually above sea level. While the total land area is only 80 acres, the reef area is huge at 194,000 acres, which is more than 450 square miles . The atoll is ever-changing, with islets emerging and subsiding. Bathymetric maps show the depths below sea level. To see a bathymetric map of Pearl and Hermes Atoll, click here. Hawaiian monk seals and sea turtles breed and feed at Pearl and Hermes, and it is a mating area for spinner dolphins. The atoll has the highest standing stock of fish and the highest number of fish species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. These include saber squirrelfish, eels, Galapagos sharks, sandbar sharks, ulua, angelfish, aweoweo, uhu, and numerous lobsters. Hiding between the unique reef and lagoons are very unusual invertebrate habitats. For example, several sponges collected recently may be new to science! Thirty-three species of stony corals have been documented at Pearl and Hermes Atoll.
• LISIANSKI ISLAND - The Hawaiian name for this island is papaapoho. Most historians state that Lisianski Island was accidentally discovered on October 15, 1805 when a ship under command of Russian Captain Yurii Lisianski, ran aground there. Curiously, Lisianski is a Polish spelling, the Russian would be Lisiansky. Some histories record his name as Urey Lisianski, but, most list it as Yurii Lisianski. Both are wrong. His real name is Yuri Fyodorovich Lisiansky and he was born in the town of Nezhin, in Little Russia, on the 13th of April 1773, of noble parents. Being destined for the navy, he was sent, when 10 years of age, to the Naval Cadet Corps at Kronshtadt, where he remained to study the theories and principles of his future profession until he was 15 years old. He served 7 years in the British Navy, was fluent in English and had visited America several times. As a captain-lieutentant in the Russian Navy, Lisiansky accompanied Commander Adam Ivan Ritter von Krusenstern (Kruzenshtern) from St. Petersburg through the Baltic Sea to London, where 3 more ships were purchased by the Russian Navy. The Thames was renamed Neva and was put under the command of Lisiansky. Two other ships, also bought in London, accompanied Commander Kruzenshtern's ships southward in the Atlantic Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa, through the Indian Ocean to Hawaii, where he discovered what is now Lisianski Island after which, he sailed on to Alaska. When Lisiansky left Sitka, Alaska he sailed around the world back to Russia and was the first Russian to circumnavigate the globe; thus, Lisiansky was given the honor of being knighted with the order of St. Vladimir and was showered with gifts from the Russian imperial family. Nevertheless, the spelling, "Lisianski" and not "Lisiansky" was officially adopted by the United States Geographic Board, October 1, 1924. Lisiansky recorded in his ship's log on October 18, 1805, the existence of huge redwood logs on the beach at Lisianski Island. He also recorded: "To the southeast point of the bank where the vessel grounded, I gave the name of Neva; while the island itself, in compliance with the unanimous wishes of my ship's company, received the appellation of Lisiansky." Lisianski Island was formed when geologic forces raised the island above sea level. The highest point on Lisianski is a sand dune on the northeastern portion which varies between 20 and 40 feet in elevation. Though the island is only about 381 acres or one and a half square kilometers, the reef area to the southeast is enormous and covers 241,916 acres. The reef, which is called Neva Shoals is about the size of the island of Oahu. To see a bathymetric map of Lisianski Island, click here. Captain Lisiansky ordered his men to remove the cargo, the cannons and most of the crewmembers from the ship, so that it would rise enough to be freed from the shallow waters. The rescue ship which came later to retrieve the crew introduced mice to Lisianski Island. The mice and rabbits which were introduced later, devastated the islands foliage and changed the ecology drastically, causing some bird species to become extinct. Merchants began to come to Lisianski Island in about 1904 to slaughter the birds and collect their feathers for fashions in Japan and the Western world. In 1909, when Lisianski was declared part of the Hawaiian Island Bird Reservation, feather hunters ignored the new law and continued collecting feathers. In 1910 an armed expedition landed on Lisianski and arrested feather poachers and confiscated and destroyed about 2,800 pounds of feathers which had been taken from 140,400 dead birds. Today, migratory shorebirds, Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles are common visitors to Lisianski's white sand beaches.
• LAYSAN ISLAND - Laysan Island, called Kauo by the Hawaiians, is a low lying sandy island that covers about 1015 acres, making it the second largest land mass in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, just behind Sand Island at Midway Atoll. Laysan Island is about 1 mile wide and 1-1/2 miles long. Laysan Island was formed from geologic forces pushing upward and by coral growth. In the center of the island is a hypersaline lake. The water in the lake ranges in salinity between 12-14%. This makes it more than 3 times more salty than the ocean. The lake is one of only five natural lakes in all of the Hawaiian Islands. Surrounding the lake, the beautiful encircling white sand beach is topped by dry coastal grasses. Sedges, which are tufted marsh grasses, grow thick near the lake's edge. At one time, Laysan Island supported the largest albatross rookery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Prior to the arrival of Western and Japanese people, groves of sandalwood trees, dense thickets of bushes, twenty-five species of flowering shrubs and native fan palms flourished providing shade for five species of land birds, endemic to this island and not known elsewhere in the world. Over ten million birds lived on Laysan and deposited a great deal of guano, which westerners prized for fertilizer. Monk seals and green sea turtles were also found in abundance by the first visitors. Millions of fish, whales and sharks lived in the reefs and waters around Laysan Island. In 1828 Captain Stanikowitch of the Russian ship Moller sailed to Laysan Island. The island's easy access and large number of seabirds made it a base for traders of guano, bird droppings used as fertilizer, and feather harvesters from Japan, North America and Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Although the practices were declared illegal, poachers killed hundreds of thousands of birds and caused dramatic changes in the island's ecosystem. Remnants of guano piles remain from this era. Rabbits released in the early 1900s devastated the island's vegetation. Following the devegetation caused by rabbits, several land birds became extinct. On March 29, 1880 North Pacific Phosphate and Fertilizer Company, followed later by Hackfeld and Company began vigorously mining guano. Although the last shipment of Guano left Laysan Island on Mayday of 1904, Captain Max Schlemmer, manager of the Hackfeld and Company guano operation stayed on until 1915. It was he who had introduced the guinea pigs, Belgian Hares and large white English domestic rabbits who eventually turned the island into a desert. These events caused a public outcry which led to the creation of the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909. Efforts by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service have eliminated pests, rats, rabbits, and weeds. This has been combined with effective restoration of native vegetation. Laysan is the home to two endangered finch and duck species found only on Laysan Island. Of the 75 native invertebrate species found on Laysan, 15 are endemic. The Laysan Albatross has also made a strong comeback in all the Hawaiian Islands, especially at Midway. Because they are very clumsy on land and have difficulty taking to flight, they have been nicknamed "White Gooney Birds". Though cumbersome land dwellers, Laysan Albatross, are amazingly graceful in flight and can remain airborne for days at a time and soar without flapping their wings and even sleeping in flight. Laysan Albatrosses are agile masters at navigating the wind currents just above the surface of the ocean and can glide and remain aloft with minimal effort. After they are hatched and finally do start flying, they will leave the the island, become pelagic and will in all likelihood stay at sea for six or seven years and never touch land until they return to the nesting area on the island where they were born. For that reason they are referred to as "the nomads of the ocean". They return to the island to mate, usually for life, and, thereafter, return to their native island once a year to engage in their elaborate courtship dances and mating rituals. They only stay on land during nesting season until their single egg hatches and the chick is raised to the degree it can fly. The female laysan albatross lays one egg in a depression in the sand. Both the male and the female incubate the egg. The female will incubate the egg for the first few days. Then the male will take over for as many as three weeks. Both parents feed the chick. Laysan Albatrosses are large birds, particularly those in the Pacific Islands, and can grow to about two and a half feet long with wingspans up to 13 feet and they can weigh up to 25 pounds. They live to be 40 to 60 years old. Although the reef at Laysan is smaller than others in Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with 145,334 acres, it is quite rich. To see a bathymetric map of Laysan Island, click here. Numerous sea turtles and monk seals are once again found in abundance on and around the Laysan Island.
• GARDNER PINNACLES - The Gardner Pinnacles were called Puhahonu by the Hawaiians and are two small volcanic peaks whose total land area is only 5 acres. Gardner Pinnacles the smallest of the Northwestern Islands. The surrounding underwater shelf is very large: more than 604,000 acres or 2,446 square kilometers, much of which supports coral. Bathymetric maps show the depths below sea level. To see a bathymetric map of Gardner Pinnacles, click here. Gardner Pinnacles is known for its abundance of mollusks called giant opihi, the endemic Hawaiian limpet. (Limpets are gastropod mollusks.) The islands' rocky inter-tidal areas are an ideal habitat for opihi. Twenty-seven documented species of stony coral are distributed throughout the pinnacles' reef system. Acropora table corals have been noted on the leeward side, while tube, stony, and soft corals have been found throughout the reef. The underwater shelves around Gardner Pinnacles provide habitat for some of the highest recorded numbers of fish species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is interesting to note that the number of coral species found at Gardner is nearly twice that found at the similar basalt islands of Nihoa and Necker. Also, many main Hawaiian fish species not found at other Northwestern Hawaiian Island areas are found at Gardner Pinnacles. Gardner Pinnacles is also home to seabirds, insects and only one species of plant, the succulent sea purslane. Scientists have observed 19 species of seabirds, 12 of which breed on the steep cliffs. Despite its small size and isolation, the islands have a surprisingly wide array of insects. Spiders, mites, moths, centipedes, flies, beetles, isopods and earwigs, among others, are found on Gardner Pinnacles. Gardner Pinnacles was first discovered for Westerners by Captain Joseph Allen sailing the brig, Maro in 1820.
• FRENCH FRIGATE SHOALS - The French Frigate Shoals, originally called Kanemilohai by the Hawaiians, are an unusual crescent-shaped atoll about 18 miles (29 kilometers) wide. While the land area is only ¼ square kilometer or 67 acres, the total coral reef area of the shoals is over 938 square kilometers or 232,000 acres. French Frigate Shoals exhibits the classic features of a well-developed coral atoll. The coral growth is atop an eroded volcano, which has been submerged for millions of years. To see a bathymetric map of French Frigate Shoals, click here. To see a bathymetric map of an area near French Frigate Shoals, click here. A steep-sided basalt pinnacle juts out of the water in the center of the atoll. This unique rock formation is the last remnant of the original volcano. The pinnacle was named "La Pérouse Pinnacle" after Compte de La Pérouse, who visited the atoll in 1786. The reef system associated with French Frigate Shoals supports the greatest variety of coral species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with forty one species of stony corals documented. These include table, finger, and lobe corals. It also supports more than 600 species of invertebrates such as sponges, coral worms, snails, lobsters, crabs, shrimps, clams, oysters, sea urchins and sea stars. Many of which are endemic species found only there. More than 150 species of algae live among the reefs, including red, green and brown algae. The outer reef waters support gray reef sharks, butterfly fish, and large schools of jacks and groupers. Tern Island, a part of the atoll, was formed into a runway to serve as a refueling stop for planes enroute to Midway during World War II. The original seawall, runway, and some of the buildings remain. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to maintain a field station there, which is staffed year-round by two permanent employees and a handful of volunteers. There are 12 sandy islets scattered around the lagoon. Over 90% of all Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles are hatched on these islets, which are also home to a variety of birds as well as Hawaiian Monk Seals. Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles rely on the sandy islets of the French Frigate Shoals as their breeding grounds and nesting occurs between April and September. The shells, or carapaces, of adult turtles can be as much as four feet or 1.2 meters in length. Adult green sea turtles can weigh as much as 400 pounds or 180 kilograms. Marine debris, like nets and other plastic items, can pose a threat to turtles. Turtles and Monk Seals can be fatally entangled by nets which are sometimes abandoned by fishing boats. Tern Island at French Frigate Shoals, like Johnston Atoll and Midway Atoll, was the site of military air installations during World War II, WWII. To view a website which has historical photos of Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals as well as Midway Atoll and Johnston Atoll, click here.
• NECKER ISLAND ~ MOKUMANAMANA - Necker Island was originally called Mokumanamana by Hawaiians and and is still referred to by its original name as well as its new one. Necker Island, or Mokumanamana lies about 155 miles northwest of Nihoa. Necker Island is shaped like a fishhook which covers about 46 acres of land. The highest point is 84 meters or 277 feet at Summit Hill. There are numerous archaeological sites on Necker Island. The architecture found at these sites and the style of the objects found there resemble those of the Marquesas Islands (Iles Marquises) which are thousands of miles to the southeast in the Pacific Ocean. Structures on Necker that are thought to be religious look more like the marae of the Marquesas Islands (Iles Marquises) than the heiau of the Hawaiian Islands. A number of carved stone kii, or images, that were found on Necker Island, are remarkable in that they look more like the artwork found in central Polynesia than the art of Hawaiians. Fifty-five cultural places are known, of which 33 are religious, 17 are shelter caves, and 2 sites are of unknown function. These cultural sites are thought to date primarily before the habitation sites on Nihoa Island which were established about 1000 A.D. and abandoned just prior to 1789. Other activities that took place on the island are indicated by the production and use of stone adzes, grindstones, stone bowls, and fishing tools. In 1786, Compte de La Pérouse, a French explorer, visited Mokumanamana and named it "Necker Island" after Jacques Necker, the finance minister under King Louis XVI of France. In 1857, King Kamehameha IV sent Captain John Paty to claim Mokumanamana for the Kingdom of Hawaii. His claim was contested until 1894, when the island was annexed by Hawaii's Provisional Government. Necker Island is a dry, basalt, volcanic island. Although the island is the second smallest of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, it has the second largest surrounding marine habitat with almost 385,000 acres. Large offshore areas include Shark Bay on the north side, West Cove and Northwest Cape as well as miles of shallow reef to the southeast. Bathymetric maps show the depths below sea level. To see a bathymetric map of Necker Island, click here. Terrestrial animal life on Mokumanamana includes the blue gray noddy, land snails, wolf spiders, bird ticks, and 15 endemic insects. Marine life includes gray reef sharks, manta rays and sixteen species of stony corals. Hawaiian monk seals are seen on the island's rocky shores. A great abundance and diversity of sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and lobsters are found in Shark Bay. Little coral life exists in the shallow areas due to the constant wave action that scours the underwater basalt. Most reef life is found in holes and elevated areas protected from the currents. Below the shallow reef are extensive deeper "shelves" that extend many miles from the island, especially to the southeast. These broad offshore areas are used for commercial fishing.
• NIHOA ISLAND - Nihoa Island is the largest volcanic island in the Northwestern Hawaiian chain, with a land area consisting of approximately 171 acres or one square kilometer. There are a large number of archaeological features on Nihoa Island which include religious and agricultural sites. By the time Westerners arrived there, Nihoa was only remembered in Hawaiian chants and was no longer physically visited by anyone. It was rediscovered by Captain William Douglas sailing the British Ship H.M.S. Iphigenia in March of 1789. Although difficult to imagine today, this remote land of rugged cliffs and steep valleys provided a home for Hawaiians between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1700. More than 80 cultural sites are known, including habitation terraces and bluff shelters, religious places, agricultural terraces, and burial caves. Many of the mea makamae (cultural objects) and structures associated with these wahi pana (cultural places) are similar to many found throughout the Main Hawaiian Islands. It is believed that the abundance of natural resources and at least three freshwater seeps may have supported as many as 175 people between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1700. Nihoa was no longer occupied when Captain Douglas visited the island in 1789. Queen Kaahumanu visited Nihoa in 1822 and annexed it as part of Hawaii. Again, in 1857, King Kamehameha IV officially annexed the island as part of the Hawaiian Kingdom. In 1885, Queen Liliuokalani accompanied by her entourage of over 200 people visited Nihoa and documented their trip. The island's rugged landscape may seem uninhabitable from a distance but the very essence of Nihoa is life, a treasure chest of species found nowhere else in the world. Niches in rocky outcroppings support some of the most unique and varied insect, seabird and plant life found anywhere. Seventy-two terrestrial arthropods including giant crickets and earwigs, and two endemic landbirds, the Nihoa Finch and the Nihoa Millerbird, are found only on Nihoa. To view a photo of Nihoa from sea level, click here. Bathymetry is depth below sea level, bathymetric maps show the depths below sea level. To see a bathymetric map of Nihoa Island, click here.
To go to the Geography Page click here.
View Photos of the Life in the Leeward Islands including a variety of birds, seals, sea turtles, fishes, whales, dolphins and sharks: Select Links Below to see the pictures.
Closeup photo of Northwestern Islands Table Coral
The giant opihi, a limpet, is found only in the tidal zones of the Hawaiian Islands
A Young Monk Seal - the Hawaii State Mammal
Submerged Monk Seal
Monk Seal swimming
Swimming Green Sea Turtle ~ the Hawaiian word for turtle is "Honu".
Basking Green Sea Turtles
Close-up of a Green Sea Turtle's Head
Juvenile Great Frigate Bird over French Frigate Shoals, the Hawaiians call it Iwa
The Laysan Albatross is becoming common in all the Hawaiian Islands.
A Laysan Albatross in Flight.
Small, colorful Apapane bird
Another Apapane bird - "Manu" is Hawaiian for Bird.
Masked Boobies at French Frigate Shoals
Egrets are common birds in the Hawaiian Islands
The State Bird of Hawaii is the Nene, a species of goose.
Pearl and Hermes Atoll Ulua Fish
Swimming Maikoiko Fish
Swimming Menpachi Fish
Squirrel Fish (Menpachi) at French Frigate Shoals
Swimming Weke Fish
Swimming at French Frigate Shoals Weke Fish
Another Humuhumunukunukuapuaa
Near Pearl and Hermes Atoll swims a Manta Ray
"Hahalua" means Manta Ray in Hawaiian.
"Hihimanu" & "lupe" mean Stingray in Hawaiian.
A Humpback Whale, breaching the water.
Another Humpback Whale
The Humpback Whale is the Hawaii State Marine Mammal.
A Whale Tail above the ocean surface
A Dolphin breaching.
Dolphins swimming.
A large Mako Shark cruises.
"Mako" means "Shark" in Hawaiian - visit the Shark Webpage ~ MANY Photos of Sharks!
To see more photos of the animals of Hawaii - see the Geography Webpage for pictures of antelope, deer, sheep and sharks as well further information about the critically endangered Monk Seals.
To go to the Geography Page click here.
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