Compare Baker Island (2003) - Pacific Ocean (2002)

Compare Baker Island (2003) z Pacific Ocean (2002)

	Baker Island (2003)	Pacific Ocean (2002)

Airports	1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m, completely covered with vegetation and unusable (2002)	-
Area	total: 1.4 sq km land: 1.4 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Flores Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Java Sea, Philippine Sea, Savu Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world
Background	The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization was begun on this island - as well as on nearby Howland Island - but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle of the west coast.	The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.
Climate	equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December
Coastline	4.8 km	135,663 km
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Baker Island	-
Dependency status	unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system	-
Disputes - international	none	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Economy - overview	no economic activity	The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed but not stopped new drillings.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 8 m	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues	no natural fresh water resources	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea
Flag description	the flag of the US is used	-
Geographic coordinates	0 13 N, 176 31 W	0 00 N, 160 00 W
Geography - note	treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	-
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	-
Legal system	the laws of the US, where applicable, apply	-
Location	Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
Map references	Oceania	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard	-
Natural hazards	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December
Natural resources	guano (deposits worked until 1891), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish
Population	uninhabited note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and remnants of structures from early settlement are located near the middle of the west coast; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service (July 2003 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one small boat landing area along the middle of the west coast	Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)
Terrain	low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest
Transportation - note	there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)
Waterways	none	-

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