The Midway Islands, located at 28.2 N, 177.4W and 1.42 sq. km in area, are enclosed in the
classically shaped Midway Atoll. The underlying basalt, covered by more than 400m of fossil reef, is estimated to
be 28 million years old. (Boreholes drilled by Ladd et al. [reported in Science in 1967] reached basalt 152m below
Sand Island.) Within the reef are two islands; Sand Island was extensively modified starting in 1856 when reefs were
blasted to create a port. Midway was an important stopover on transpacific voyages, and saw regular commercial ship
and seaplane traffic. During the U.S. Navy's occupation of the atoll beginning in the 1940s, Sand Island and Eastern
Island were extensively modified to create airstrips and widen the southern shipping channel. The atoll and banks
include 223 sq. km area with of depths less than 100 m. The area is now the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
which is under jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Cruises CoRIS Metadata Record Names
TC0207 cred_toad_midway_2002
OES0306 cred_toad_midway_2003
HI0401 cred_toad_midway_2004
Resource Description: Digital video images that are geo-referenced to navigation files.