Enderbury Atoll

Enderbury Atoll, one of the Phoenix Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean, about 1,650 miles (2,660 km) southwest of Hawaii. Its lagoon is shallow and brackish. The coral island has an area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 square km). The atoll was discovered (1823) by J.J. Coffin of the British Navy and was named for an English merchant. Guano deposits were worked from 1857 to 1890, first by Americans and later by Britons. In 1939 Enderbury and its companion, Kanton (formerly Canton) Atoll, 32 miles (51 km) northwest, were placed by agreement under joint U.S.-British control so that both countries could use them for transpacific air stops—an arrangement of limited value after the advent of long-range jet aircraft. In the 1960s scientists used the atoll for the study of bird migration patterns. In 1979 Enderbury and the other Phoenix Islands became part of independent Kiribati. There are no permanent inhabitants.