Howland and Baker Islands

Howland and Baker islands are two nearby uninhabited U.S. atolls in the Equatorial Pacific that are wildlife refuges, the larger of which is Howland Island:

• Howland Island, Coordinates: 0°48′24″N 176°36′59″W / 0.80667°N 176.61639°W / 0.80667; -176.61639.
• Baker Island, Coordinates: 0°11′41″N 176°28′46″W / 0.19472°N 176.47944°W / 0.19472; -176.47944.

In addition to the article title, there are several ways the sources refer to this group of islands. These include, Howland and Baker Islands, Baker and Howland Islands, Baker and Howland islands, Howland & Baker Islands, Baker & Howland Islands, "Howard and Baker Islands", "Baker and Howard Islands", "Baker & Howard Islands", Howland/Baker EEZ, and Howland-Baker EEZ.

They are both part of the larger political territory of the United States Minor Outlying Islands and they are also both part of the larger geographic grouping of the Phoenix Islands. Each is a National Wildlife Refuge managed by a division of Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Service. On January 6, 2009, President George Bush, in creating the monument, added both islands to the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

The Howland-Baker EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) is a 400 nautical-mile diameter area protected by the U.S. Coast Guard, and was in the news in 2005. The Howland-Baker EEZ has 425,700 km2; and by comparison, California has 423,970 km2.

The area may best be known, specifically Howland Island, as the area that Amelia Earhart failed to reach in 1937. More recently, the islands have attracted attention as the only land masses associated with UTC-12:00, which is the last area on earth for deadlines with a date to pass.