Phoenix Islands Protected Area

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area covers around four hundred thousand square kilometres of the central Pacific, eight atolls and two submerged reefs with almost no human population and the surrounding ocean, inscribed by UNESCO in 2010 as one of the largest and least disturbed coral archipelago systems left. Only Kanton has any residents at all. Reaching it means an ocean crossing of days.

Background

The protected area was established in January 2008 and covers 408,250 square kilometres, about the size of California, yet its land adds up to only 25 square kilometres. It takes in three atolls with lagoons, Orona, Nikumaroro and Kanton, five low islands ringed by reefs, Manra, Rawaki, McKean, Birnie and Enderbury, and the submerged Winslow and Carondelet reefs. Below the surface lie 14 known seamounts, thought to be extinct volcanoes. About 800 animal species are known here, among them around 200 corals, 500 fish, 18 marine mammals and 44 birds. When UNESCO inscribed it in 2010, it became the largest and deepest World Heritage Site.

Source: Wikipedia, "Phoenix Islands Protected Area"

What's there

• The scale - around four hundred thousand square kilometres protected.
• The atolls - eight islands with almost no human population.
• The intact reef - among the least disturbed coral systems remaining.
• The 2010 inscription - the UNESCO listing of the whole area.

When to go

April to October is the calmer season for the crossing. Access is extremely limited in any month. Permits are required and rarely given.

Before you go

This is one of the hardest places on earth to reach: days of open ocean, a permit that is rarely granted, and no infrastructure whatsoever. Almost nobody goes. Coral bleaching has affected parts of the area severely.

Nearby

Kanton is the only inhabited island, and Tarawa is far west.

Key facts