Enderbury Island
Enderbury Island (Ederbury Island, Guano Island) is a small, uninhabited atoll 63 km ESE of Kanton Island in the Pacific Ocean at 3°08′S 171°05′W / 3.133°S 171.083°W. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 3 miles (4.8 km) long, with a reef stretching out 60–200 metres. Forming a part of the Canton and Enderbury Islands condominium from 1939–79, the island is now a possession of the Republic of Kiribati.
Kiribati declared the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in 2006, with the park being expanded in 2008. The 164,200-square-mile (425,300-square-kilometer) marine reserve contains eight coral atolls including Kanton.
The island is flat and bare, with elevations between 15 and 22 feet. Vegetation consists of low shrubs, including herbs, bunchgrass, sida and morning-glory vines, together with a few clumps of trees, including coconut palms and kou trees. Unlike other atolls, Enderbury has only a small lagoon; most of the island is land. Bird life is abundant, as is the rat population, according to E.H. Bryan Feral cats used to exist, but recently died out. Enderbury has been identified as the most important green sea turtle nesting area in the Phoenix Islands group.
A expedition to carry out eradication of the population of Polynesian rat on Enderbury Island was carried out in 2011.
Enderbury Island was discovered in 1823 by Capt. James J. Coffin from the British whaling ship 'Transit' and named after Samuel Enderby (1756–1829), owner of a London whaling company. The version 'Enderbury' is a misspelling. The first interest in Enderbury came in 1860, with guano mining. The Guano Islands Act of 1856 allowed Americans to claim islands which had guano deposits; Enderbury was one of them. The start was slow, but guano mining in Enderbury reached its peak in 1870, under the Phoenix Guano Company, when 6,000 tons were mined and shipped in 64 days. The Americans left in 1877, and the Pacific entrepreneur John T. Arundel took over in the 1880s.
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