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Johnston Atoll, also known as Kalama Atoll to Native Hawaiians, is an unincorporated territory of the United States currently administered by the United States Air Force (USAF) of the United States Department of Defense. The islands are visited annually by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public entry is only by special-use permit from the United States Air Force. For nearly 70 years, the atoll was under the control of the American military. In that time it was used as a bird sanctuary, as a naval refueling depot, as an airbase, for nuclear and biological weapons testing, for space recovery, as a secret missile base, and as a chemical weapon and Agent Orange storage and disposal site. These activities left the area environmentally contaminated and remediation and monitoring continue. ==Geography== Johnston Atoll is an uninhabited atoll in the North Pacific Ocean located about southwest of the island of Hawai'i and is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges )〕 The atoll, which is located on a coral reef platform, has four islands. Johnston (or Kalama) Island and Sand Island are both enlarged natural features, while ''Akau'' (North) and ''Hikina'' (East) are two artificial islands formed by coral dredging.〔 By 1964, dredge and fill operations had increased the size of Johnston Island to from its original , also increased Sand Island from , and added two new islands, North and East, of .〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Fish and Wildlife Service-Johnston Atoll, About the Refuge )〕 The four islands compose a total land mass of 2.67 km².〔 Due to the atoll's tilt, much of the reef on the southeast portion has subsided. But even though it does not have an encircling reef crest, the reef crest on the northwest portion of the atoll does provide for a shallow lagoon, with depths ranging from . The climate is tropical but generally dry. Northeast trade winds are consistent and there is little seasonal temperature variation.〔 With elevation ranging from sea level to at Summit Peak, the islands contain some low-growing vegetation and palm trees on mostly flat terrain and no natural fresh water resources.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Johnston Atoll」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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