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Midway Atoll (; also called Midway Island and Midway Islands; Hawaiian: ''Pihemanu Kauihelani'') is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean at . As its name suggests, Midway is roughly equidistant between North America and Asia, and lies almost halfway around the world longitudinally from Greenwich, UK. It is near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Tokyo, Japan. Midway Atoll is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, and the former home of the Naval Air Facility Midway (former ICAO PMDY). For statistical purposes, Midway is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. It is less than east of the International Date Line, about west of San Francisco, and east of Tokyo. The Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, encompassing 〔(USFWS Lands Report, September 30, 2007 )〕 of land and water (mostly water) in the surrounding area, is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Approximately 40 to 60 members of the Service live on the Atoll. The Battle of Midway, which was fought between June 4 and 6, 1942, was one of the most important battles of the Pacific campaign. The United States Navy defeated a Japanese battle group marking a turning point in the war in the Pacific Theater. USAAF aircraft based at the original Henderson Field on Eastern Island joined the attack against the Japanese fleet, which suffered losses of four carriers and one heavy cruiser. Travel to the atoll in 2013 was not possible even through organized tour companies or as a Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer. Due to cuts in the US government's 2013 fiscal budget, visitor and volunteer programs have been suspended. The visitor program (which reopened the atoll to visitors in January 2008) hosted 332 visitors in 2012.〔(Visiting Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge ). FWS Website.〕〔(Volunteer at Midway Atoll NWR ). FWS Website.〕〔(Ecotourism ends at Midway Atoll ). Star-Advertiser, November 16, 2012〕〔(). Galapagos Travel Website, November 16, 2012.〕〔(). Photo Safaris Website, November 16, 2012.〕 The tours have focused on the ecology of Midway and its military history. The economy is derived solely from governmental sources and tourist fees. All food and manufactured goods are imported. The refuge and most of its surrounding area are part of the larger Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. ==Geography and geology== Midway Atoll is part of a chain of volcanic islands, atolls, and seamounts extending from Hawaii up to the tip of the Aleutian Islands and known as the Hawaii-Emperor chain. It consists of a ring-shaped barrier reef and several sand islets. The two significant pieces of land, Sand Island and Eastern Island, provide a habitat for millions of seabirds. The island sizes are shown in the table above, but according to other sources, Sand Island measures in area and the lagoon within the fringing rim of coral reef . The atoll, which has a small population (approximately 60 in 2014,〔(Hawaii: Midway Atoll - TripAdvisor )〕 but no indigenous inhabitants), is designated an ''insular area'' under the authority of the United States Department of the Interior. Midway was formed roughly 28 million years ago when the seabed underneath it was over the same hotspot from which the Island of Hawaii is now being formed. In fact, Midway was once a shield volcano perhaps as large as the island of Lana'i. As the volcano piled up lava flows building the island, its weight depressed the crust and the island slowly subsided over a period of millions of years, a process known as isostatic adjustment. As the island subsided, a coral reef around the former volcanic island was able to maintain itself near sea level by growing upwards. That reef is now over thick〔 Also reprinted here ().〕 (in the lagoon, , comprised mostly post-Miocene limestones with a layer of upper Miocene (Tertiary ''g'') sediments and lower Miocene (Tertiary ''e'') limestones at the bottom overlying the basalts). What remains today is a shallow water atoll about across. Following Kure Atoll, Midway is the 2nd most northern atoll in the world. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11:00 (also known as Samoa Time), eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour behind the state of Hawaii. 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「Midway Atoll」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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