It is for the most part separated from the ocean by dry land. Palmyra has one of the most beautiful lagoons in the world. In the coastal shallow waters of the lagoon thrive mangrove forests, which create a safe environment for a number of species of sea creatures. It mostly consists of palm trees but there are many other species of plants too. The atoll is covered by dense vegetationīecause of the abundant equatorial rainfalls, the islands of Palmyra Atoll, with no exceptions, are covered by dense vegetation. For this reason, the coastal water is almost always calm and quiet. Some of them are small while others are hundreds of meters long.Ĭoral reefs break the waves about 200 to 500 meters off the shore. They are snow-white and are of coral origin. The islands have some of the most beautiful beaches you can imagine. The coastline of this remote atoll is approximately 14 km long. This is a great luck for the local flora and fauna because the group of islands today is not affected from radiation, which is not the case with other places such the Bikini Atoll. In contrast to many other pacific atolls, Palmyra has never been used for nuclear tests.

Palmyra has never been used for nuclear testsĬoral Reef at Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge by USFWS Most of them are scientists that come here to research and observe this isolated corner on the planet for short periods of time. In addition, most of these people are not permanently living here. However, the islands of Palmyra are home to only between 4 and 20 people (the data is from 2008). Palmyra Atoll is uninhabited (almost)įor most people is very surprising to hear that such a popular island is uninhabited. In its highest point it reaches only 12 meters above seal level.įor this reason, the islands are especially vulnerable to huge ocean waves such as tsunami, which might appear after earthquakes or volcanic eruptions in other parts of the ocean or even bigger ocean waves during stronger tropical storms in the area. Similarly to all other atolls, Palmyra has an insignificant altitude. Since Palmyra Atoll is located only 652 km north of the equator, there is a very low chance to be affected by a tropical cyclone in comparison to other Pacific islands. Usually most of the tropical islands experience frequent tropical storms, which in the different parts of the world are known under different names – typhoons, hurricanes, cyclones. In combination with the heavy rains, the weather here is very humid, and it requires time for a person to adapt. With small differences, it is about 29 – 30☌. The average daytime temperature of Palmyra doesn’t change over the year. Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge by USFWS – Pacific Region

Bikini atoll