East Island is a

former island A former island is a mass of land that was once an island, but has been joined to a mainland, another island, or engulfed by a body of water. The process of joining might be the result of volcanic activity, moving tidal sands, or through land re ...

, formerly about in area, long and wide. It was the second-largest in the French Frigate Shoals, and one of the

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or Leeward Hawaiian Islands are a series of islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest (in some cases, far to the northwest) of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. Politically, they are all p ...

, approximately northwest of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. It was largely washed away in 2018 by the

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

from

Hurricane Walaka Hurricane Walaka was a Category 5 hurricane that brought high surf and a powerful storm surge to the Hawaiian Islands. Walaka was the nineteenth named storm, twelfth hurricane, eighth major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane ...

. The remaining portion of the island above sea level consists of a sandy strip approximately long. The island, a sand and gravel spit that formed part of the

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (roughly ) is a World Heritage Site, World Heritage listed National Monument (United States), U.S. National Monument encompassing of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of th ...

, was a habitat for

Hawaiian monk seal The Hawaiian monk seal (''Neomonachus schauinslandi'') is an endangered species of earless seal in the family Phocidae that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiian monk seal is one of two extant monk seal species; the other is the Med ...

s and

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

s, both of which are

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. 96% of Hawaii's green sea turtles nest in the French Frigate Shoals, and over half of those were on East Island. Charles Littnan, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, described the island as "the most important single islet for

reen A rhyne (Somerset), rhine/rhyne (Gloucestershire), or reen ( South Wales) (all pronounced "reen"; from Old English ''ryne'' or Welsh ''rhewyn'' or ''rhewin'' "ditch") is a term used in parts of England and Wales for a drainage ditch, or can ...

sea turtle nesting". During WW2 a U.S. Coast Guard radio navigation station was built on East Island and operated from 1944 to 1952. In the 19th century, East Island was sometimes called turtle island. Endangered Hawaiian monk seal sunning on the beach (6741931081)

Endangered Hawaiian monk seal sunning on the beach (6741931081)

Green turtle swimming over coral reefs in Kona

History

Atoll research bulletin (1971) (20157463550)

The island was surveyed by the

Tanager Expedition The ''Tanager'' Expedition was a series of five biological surveys of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands conducted in partnership between the Bureau of Biological Survey and the Bishop Museum, with the assistance of the United States Navy. Four ex ...

of 1923 and 1924. At that time it was about 11 acres of land. In 1932 the USS ''Quail'' anchored near East Island, when it used its

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

to take aerial photographs of the shoals. In 1935 a "tent city" was placed on East island to support Naval maneuvers in the region, which included exercises with ships and seaplanes. In October 1936, the USS ''Wright'' (AV-1) came to the shoals, and established a base on East island to support a month of seaplane operations. From November 1944 to October 1952 the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

maintained a LORAN radio navigation station on the island. In April 1946 it was badly damaged by a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

, and in August 1950 it had to be evacuated due to a

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

warning. Facilities included 13 buildings including the LORAN building, which was for a radio system to that supported ships and aircraft locating themselves at long distances. Buildings in the USCG Loran facility included:Page 18
/ref> *Commanding Officer (CO) quarters & recreational hall *Two Barracks *

Mess Hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

Galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

*Generator Hut & Storeroom *2nd Generator Hut &

Machine Shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...

*Loran Hut & Radio room * Aerology Office *

Boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...

's Locker *Distiller Shed *Paint Locker *Vehicle Shed *Crew's Head (Bathroom hut) Other structures on the island included water tanks, water pump, and the antennas. In the 1980s, it was noted as a pupping ground for monk seals. In the late 20th century it was known as a noted breeding ground for Green sea turtles. In 1997 it was reported to have over 500 turtles nests on the island. In 2018 most of the island above sea level was washed away by Hurricane Walaka. The storm was a Category 4 storm at the time of its passage.

References

{{Authority control Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral islands French Frigate Shoals October 2018 events in Oceania 2018 in Hawaii 2018 Pacific hurricane season Hurricanes in Hawaii Former islands of the United States Sea level Effects of tropical cyclones Walaka

History

See also

References