United States Minor Outlying Islands

United States Minor Outlying Islands
Flag
Motto:  "In God We Trust" (official) "E Pluribus Unum" (Latin) (traditional) "Out of Many, One"
Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Locations of the United States Minor Outlying Islands in the Pacific Ocean; Navassa Island is not located on this map.
Administrative center	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Largest village	Wake Island
National language	English
Government
• President	Joe Biden (D)
Area
• Total	49.26 km2 (19.02 sq mi) (Unranked)
• Water (%)	88.6
Population
• 2009 estimate	300[citation needed] (232nd)
• 2000 census	316
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Per capita	$46,381a (6th)
Currency	United States dollar (US$) (USD)
Time zone	UTC−12 to −10, −5, +12
ISO 3166 code	UM
Internet TLD	.us b
2000 estimate. .um was retired in 2007.

The United States Minor Outlying Islands is a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code. The entry code is ISO 3166-2:UM. The minor outlying islands and groups of islands comprise eight United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean (Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island) and one in the Caribbean Sea (Navassa Island).

Though scattered across the Pacific and relatively small, the islands are rich in history and nature and have been strategically important. The nearly barren Howland is famous for being the island renowned American pilot Amelia Earhart intended to land on before she vanished during her round-the-world flight in 1937. Wake, home to a now extinct flightless bird, was the site of a pitched World War II battle in 1941, and was an essential stopover for aircraft transiting the Pacific in the mid-20th century. Likewise, Midway Atoll is home to many corals and birds and was also the center of a famous battle of WW2, which helped turn the tide of the Pacific War. Other islands are rich in unique biodiversity, such as Palmyra, the site of a WW2 base. Johnston Atoll was a famous island for its Cold War base, when it was expanded and used to destroy chemical weapon stockpiles; it was also the site of a nuclear accident. Johnston was heavily modified with land expansion, while others are nearly untouched nature reserves.