Birnie

Birnie
	Map of Birnie
Waters	Pacific Ocean
Archipelago	Phoenix Islands
Geographical location	3 ° 35 ′ 6 ″ S , 171 ° 31 ′ 0 ″ W Coordinates: 3 ° 35 ′ 6 ″ S , 171 ° 31 ′ 0 ″ W
length	1.2 km
width	600 m
surface	72 ha
Residents	uninhabited
	Map of the Phoenix Islands, with Birnie to the east

Birnie ( English Birnie Island ) is a small uninhabited coral island of the Kiribati Phoenix Islands . The only 1.2 km long and 0.6 km wide island , the smallest of the Phoenix Islands, is located in the central Pacific Ocean about 90 km east of Rawaki , the main island of the archipelago.

The island is an upscale atoll with the heavily salty remainder of a lagoon in the southwest, which is completely separated from the sea. Because of the pristine flora and fauna, Birnie is an important nature reserve ( Birnie Island Wildlife Sanctuary ).

Birnie was in 1823 by the whaling ship Sydney Packet discovered under Captain T. Emmett Master and after the ship owner of the London firm Alexander Birnie & Co . named.

photos

Birnie Island, signal tower in the background
Birnie Island with signal tower
Lagoon in August 2008
US Army Corps of Engineers landmarks

literature

Henry Evans Maude: Of islands and men: studies in Pacific history. Melbourne [u. a.]: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1968
AGE Jones: Ships employed in the South Seas trade. Vol. 1: 1775-1861; Canberra 1986 & Vol. 2: 1775-1859; Burwood, Vic. [1992]

Web links

Commons : Birnie - collection of images, videos and audio files

Information on the nature reserve on Birnie (English)
Historical maps, pictures and information (English)