The first transpacific cable and station were in operation by In the s, Midway became a stopover for the Pan American Airways' flying "clippers" seaplanes crossing the ocean on their five-day transpacific passage. The United States was inspired to invest in the improvement of Midway in the mid's with the rise of imperial Japan.
In the Army Corps of Engineers dredged the lagoon during this period and, in , Midway was declared second to Pearl Harbor in terms of naval base development in the Pacific.
The construction of the naval air facility at Midway began in At this time, French Frigate Shoals was also a U. Midway also became an important submarine advance base. The reef was dredged to form a channel and harbor to accommodate submarine refit and repair.
Patrol vessels of the Hawaiian Sea Frontier forces stationed patrol vessels at most of the islands and atolls Linville, ; Braisted, ; Cressman, Midway was of vital importance to both Japanese and American war strategies in World War II, and the raid in June 4 of is one of the most significant events in the history of the naval base. Seventy five percent of all Laysan albatross nest here—the largest colony on the planet. These amazing birds fly seven to 10 days away from their nest to collect fish, then return to feed chicks, a round trip of up to miles.
And the oldest known wild bird at 69! But Laysan albatross are not the only birds at Midway. Midway also holds the largest colony of Black-footed albatross. But Short-Tailed albatross numbers plummeted from an estimated seven million birds to zero with hope for a slow rebuild. The culprit was probably rats, brought to the island on ships.
But a more recent threat to the seabird life is garbage. The US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates over five tons of human garbage is deposited by the ocean annually at Midway. But Midway is also a place of birth and abundance. US Fish and Wildlife Service staff and volunteers make annual trips to the islands for cleanup bring your umbrella! The crushing impact of introduced species on bird populations has been mitigated, but always needs monitoring to enable this rebirth of the islands as a home for some of the most magnificent creatures of our planet.
At one point there were only 11 Laysan ducks left in the world, all on their namesake island, near Midway. Rats, and other introduced creatures including rabbits! Rabbits had destroyed the vegetation they hid in and ate. They freeze in the grass—not much help against ground predators, and if the grass is gone—oops! This story reminds us that any creature only following one way of life can become endangered or even extinct if circumstances change. The rabbits, of course, overconsumed their resources and starved, the remainders were eradicated, and by the s the ducks had recovered to about In the early years of this century, some were moved to Midway, thrived, and have improved the chances the duck will survive into the future.
In , a Naval Air Station was commissioned and crews began constructing runways, power plants, barracks and a hospital. Also hit were the hospital, seaplane hangar and power plant. The Battle of Midway, from June , , represented a critical turning point for the U.
Due to some masterful code breaking, the U. Although U. The Japanese Navy was never able to fully recover. Several historic monuments commemorating the brave soldiers who fought and died during World War II have been erected on Sand and Eastern Islands.
Midway Atoll continued its vital military role as a strategic location in the middle of the Pacific. It was a convenient refueling stop on transpacific flights as well as an important stop for Navy ships and submarines. By the late s, the atoll became host to radar aircraft and crews that were part of the Distant Early Warning DEW system, designed to detect Soviet missile tests, with planes departing the island round the clock to survey the Pacific as far north as the Aleutian Islands.
Most of the other features revealed in our new maps were created during this stage too. The Pacific plate continued to move to the northwest carrying Midway off of the hot spot and that steady supply of magma, and marking entrance into what geologists call the post-shield stage—the equivalent of volcano senior citizenship.
During this phase eruptions become less frequent until a volcano finally becomes dormant or even inactive. The Pacific plate is now carrying Midway toward a subduction zone to the north. Once Midway volcano stopped actively growing it began to sink. At the same time corals started and continued to grow over its top. Layer upon layer of coral covered the summit, eventually creating a carbonate platform at least meters thick.
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