Kure Atoll (; ; ) or Ocean Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean west-northwest of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at . A coral ring across encloses a lagoon several meters deep. The atoll's largest island is called Green Island, and is a habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds in the present day and wildlife staff. A short, unused, and unmaintained runway and a portion of one building, both from a former United States Coast Guard LORAN station, are located on the island. Politically, it is part of Hawaii, though the nearest island is Midway, which is a separate unorganized territory. Kure Atoll, in addition to being the nesting grounds for tens of thousands of seabirds, has recorded several vagrant terrestrial birds, including snow bunting, eyebrowed thrush, brambling, olive-backed pipit, black kite, Steller's sea eagle and Chinese sparrowhawk. It is currently managed as a Wildlife Bird Sanctuary by the State of Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resource—Division of Forestry and Wildlife as one of the co-trustees of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument with support from the Kure Atoll Conservancy. Kure is one of the westernmost islands of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Kure is seasonally inhabited by small crews of two to eight volunteers and biologists who work to restore and manage the native ecosystem.
Kure was discovered in the early 19th century and was the site of several shipwrecks. In the early 20th century it became a bird nature reserve of the United States. In the late 20th century, it was home to a radio base that supported location finding (LORAN system before GPS), and in the 21st century it is mostly a nature reserve and for scientific research. Kure, or sometimes written Cure, used to be called Ocean Island up until 1924 when it was renamed; in 1987 this changed to Kure Atoll (atoll rather than island). There are also several native Hawaiian names; some depend on context. Moku Papapa is the generic name for a flat island like this atoll but became more associated with it, and another one is Hōlanikū.
There are no more islands to the west until Japan. Though historically it was thought there might be, none were confirmed (see phantom islands such as the Byer's/Morrell's islands and the Anson Archipelago). To the west and south, across a great amount of ocean, are the Bonin and Volcano Islands (such as Iwo Jima); to the southwest are Minamitorishima and Wake Island. The Aleutian island chain that extends out from Alaska lies far to the north. The nearest feature to the west, but below sea level, is Hancock Seamount. The submerged Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain continues to the northwest. Kure is the farthest west and north island of the Hawaiian chain above sea level in the present day. Other underwater features in the region include the Mid-Pacific Mountains to the south, and to the north, the Hess rise (underwater features).
Hess bank to the north has the historical undersea feature the Mellish bank.
History
The island was discovered in the early 19th century, and besides from shipwrecks was only occasionally visited. From the 1960s to 1992, it had LORAN radio station, which had a small staff and an airstrip. It has been a nature reserve since that time, and marine debris cleanup and scientific research on the nature is conducted.
In the Hawaiian language the term was used for any flat island with reefs. The northwestern islands are associated with Kāne Milohaʻi in Hawaiian mythology, the brother of Pele, creator of the islands, who was left to stand guard for travelers. Another Hawaiian name for Kure Atoll is , meaning "bringing forth heaven."
19th century
Before the mid-19th century, Kure Atoll was visited by several ships and given new names each time. Sometimes spelled Cure, its English name was for a Russian navigator who sighted the atoll. It was officially named Kure Island in 1924 and then Kure Atoll in 1987. The old name for the island was Ocean Island.
Two shipwrecks in the early 19th century were the Gledstanes and the Parker, in 1837 and 1842 respectively. The Gledstanes crewmembers were able to make it to the island and then were able to build a new vessel from the debris of their old ship. Some of the survivors then sailed it back to mainland Hawaii. Once they reached Hawaii, they sent a ship back to rescue those who had stayed behind on the island. The shipwreck of the Gledstanes was found in 2008.
The Parkers crew had a somewhat more difficult time but did manage to get to land by floating on a raft for several days. They managed to survive on a diet of birds and other wildlife at the atoll, living on what is now Green island. They even encountered the dog from the Gledstanes who had been living wild on the island in the previous years. They attempted to make contact with the outside world by attaching messages to seabirds. The Parker had shipwrecked in September 1842 and having lived at Kure Atoll, many of the crew were finally rescued on April 16, 1843, with the remainder taken off on May 2, 1843. The first rescue ship was the James Stewart and the second rescue ship was the whaler Nassau.
Many crews were stranded on Kure Atoll after being shipwrecked on the surrounding reefs and had to survive on the local seals, turtles, and birds. The shipwrecks remain on the reef today, including the . Because of these incidents, King Kalākaua sent Colonel J. H. Boyd to Kure as his Special Commissioner. On September 20, 1886, he took possession of the island for the Hawaiian government. The King ordered that a crude house be built on the island, with tanks for holding water and provisions for any other unfortunates who might be cast away there. However, the provisions were stolen within a year and the house soon fell into ruin.
In 1867, the USS Lackawanna surveyed the atoll to produce more accurate charts of the reefs.
The USS Saginaw was wrecked on the atoll in October 1870. The crew was able to abandon ship, but not much was saved. A crew of five sailed the captain's gig to the island of Kauai, but only one survived the difficult month-long voyage. Despite this, word did get to the authorities, who sent a rescue ship to the stranded crew, which was able to rescue them in January 1871.
The vessel Dunnottar Castle shipwrecked in 1886, and the crew was able to reach Kauai eventually; however, some lives were lost.
20th century
Largely neglected for most of its history, during World War II Kure was routinely visited by U.S. Navy patrols from nearby Midway to ensure that the Japanese were not using it to refuel submarines or flying boats from submarine-tankers for attacks elsewhere in the Hawaiian chain. During the Battle of Midway, a Japanese Nakajima B5N "Kate" bomber, operating from the aircraft carrier Hiryū, piloted by Lieutenant Kikuchi Rokurō, and which had been involved in the initial Japanese attack on Midway's US installations, crash-landed near Kure after being damaged by US fighters. Once ashore, Lt. Kikuchi and the two other members of his crew (Warrant Officer Yumoto Noriyoshi and Petty Officer (1st Class) Narasaki Hironori) refused capture and were either killed or committed suicide when an American landing party tried to capture them.
In the 1950s, there was a radar reflector on the island, and the island was also used for a scientific study of Pacific birds. In 1959 zig-zag stripes were cut through the groves of Scaevola bushes to make habitat space for albatrosses.
In 1960, construction began on a LORAN base and it was finished in 1961.Honolulu January 1986 At the End of the Chain by Brian Nicol Also in 1961, the tug Port of Bandon sank on the reef. The base included buildings for the LORAN station, a LORAN radio tower, and a airstrip.KURE-ATOLL-DARK-SIDE-OF-THE-SUN 2001
Between 1963 and 1965, the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) population was studied.
In 1966, a Boeing 707 jet airliner made an emergency landing at Kure Atoll.
Kure is located within a major current which washes up debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, such as fishing nets and large numbers of cigarette lighters, on the island. These pose threats to the local animals, especially birds, whose skeletons are frequently found with plastic in the stomach cavity.Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Kure Atoll
On October 16, 1998, the longline fishing vessel Paradise Queen II ran aground on the eastern edge of Green Island of Kure Atoll, spilling approximately 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel before recovery operations could commence. Debris from that shipwreck continued to pollute the reef and shoreline for many years, endangering wildlife and damaging the coral reef. The long-term impact of this and other wrecks within the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) highlight the dangers to sensitive habitats in the area. To help ensure their protection, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was designated a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) in 2008 by the International Maritime Organization. In addition to avoiding specific areas, owners must identify when their ship enters and leaves the PSSA's reporting area so a timely response can be taken should there be a maritime emergency.
From 1960 to 1992, a United States Coast Guard LORAN station was located on Green Island. A short coral runway was built on the island to support Coast Guard operations, but it was abandoned and is currently unusable. Although there is no permanent human population, the atoll is formally part of the City and County of Honolulu. It became a state wildlife sanctuary in 1981. Since 1993, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and volunteers from the Kure Atoll Conservancy group have helped to restore the atoll to a more natural state. Jean-Michel Cousteau produced a video on a voyage to Kure which first aired in 2006. Since 2010 the Division of Forestry and Wildlife has had a year-round presence on Kure Atoll.
21st century
In 2002, the wreck of a 19th-century whaling ship was found at Kure Atoll. This wreck was further explored in 2005, 2006, and 2008; it is thought it may be the wreck of the sailing ship Parker. The Parker was a whaling ship that wrecked on Kure Atoll in 1842. The crew was rescued after a few months.
The wreck of the USS Saginaw was found in 2003. The research dive studying the wreck was featured in the book A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: Life on Board USS Saginaw.
In 2008, the shipwreck of the vessel Gledstanes was found. The Gledstanes was a British whaling ship that wrecked in 1837.
In 2010, the wreck of a sailboat was recovered from Kure Atoll. The sailboat was discovered in 2007, and was determined to be the boat of a sailor who departed from Fiji in 2006, but was lost at sea.
In 2020, a crew of four stayed on the island from February through October. While there is no television or cell phone service, limited internet connectivity allows for emails to be sent and received. The island is occupied by two crews each year that are rotated in and out. Their job is to keep an eye on the island, and they also try to clean up trash that washes up on the island.
In the 2020s, removing ghost nets and marine debris from Kure and other northwest Hawaiian islands remains a big concern, which are known to endanger wildlife and pollute the environment.
Geography and ecology
The International Date Line lies approximately to the west. Although located to the west of Midway Atoll, Kure Atoll has a time zone 1 hour ahead at UTC−10:00 (the same as the rest of Hawaii). Kure is the northernmost coral atoll in the world. It consists of a nearly circular barrier reef surrounding a shallow lagoon and several sand islets. There is a total land area of , with Green Island on the southeast side. A growing number of Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) haul out on its beaches. The Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) has been on the island since it was discovered.