Malden Island
Coordinates: 4°1′S 154°56′W / 4.017°S 154.933°W
Malden Island, sometimes called Independence Island in the nineteenth century, is a low, arid, uninhabited atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, about 39 km2 (15 sq mi) in area. It is one of the Line Islands belonging to the Republic of Kiribati. The lagoon is entirely enclosed by land, however it is connected to the sea by underground channels, and is quite salty.
The island is chiefly notable for its mysterious prehistoric ruins, its once-extensive deposits of phosphatic guano (exploited by Australian interests from c. 1860–1927), its former use as the site of the first British H-bomb tests (Operation Grapple, 1957), and its current importance as a protected area for breeding seabirds.
The island is designated as the Malden Island Wildlife Sanctuary. In 2014 the Kiribati government established a 12-nautical-mile (14 mi; 22 km) fishing exclusion zone around each of the southern Line Islands (Caroline (commonly called Millennium), Flint, Vostok, Malden, and Starbuck).
Malden Island is located 242 nautical miles (278 mi; 448 km) south of the equator, 1,530 nautical miles (1,761 mi; 2,834 km) south of Honolulu, Hawaii, and more than 4,000 nautical miles (7,000 km) west of the coast of South America. The nearest land is uninhabited Starbuck Island, 110 nautical miles (204 km; 127 mi) to the southwest. The closest inhabited place is Tongareva (Penrhyn Island), 243 nautical miles (450 km; 280 mi) to the southwest. The nearest airport is on Kiritimati (Christmas Island), 365 nautical miles (676 km; 420 mi) to the northwest. Other nearby islands (all uninhabited) include Jarvis Island, 373 nautical miles (691 km; 429 mi) to the northwest, Vostok Island, 385 nautical miles (713 km; 443 mi) to the south-southeast, and Caroline (Millennium) Island, 460 nautical miles (852 km; 529 mi) to the southeast.
...
Wikipedia