Wake Island

Wake Island is a small coral atoll located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated territory of the United States and is one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The atoll is located about 2,300 miles west of Hawaii and is about 2.5 square miles in size. It is made up of three small islands: Wake Island, Wilkes Island, and Peale Island. The atoll has a small landing strip and a number of buildings, including a lighthouse, but these are only used by occasional visitors. There are no permanent residents on Wake Island.

Wake Island was discovered in 1568 by Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, and it was named after British sea captain William Wake, who visited the island in 1796. The atoll has a long history of military use, and it was the site of a major World War II battle in 1941. Today, Wake Island is used primarily for military training exercises, and it is also an important location for satellite tracking and communication. The atoll is home to a number of species of birds, including the white tern and the red-tailed tropicbird, and it is an important nesting site for these and other seabirds. It is also home to a number of species of reptiles, including lizards and snakes.