Midway Atoll is part of the Hawaiian Emperor Seamount Chain and was created about 28 million years ago. When the original volcanic island sunk in on itself, it created a lagoon surounded by a reef and three small islands. In 1867, the United States Navy annexed the islands and named them Midway Atoll. The largest island was called Sand Island which is shown in the above photograph. The second island was called Eastern Island, and between the two islands was a very small island called Spit Island. Starting in 1903, the United States government began establishing Midway Atoll as a communications and shipping refurbishment depot. In 1940, the Coast Guard established ocean stations in the Atlantic, and eventually the Coast Guard maintained ocean stations in the Pacific. Coast Guard cutters stationed in the Pacific used the Navy facilities at Midway to refuel.

 Return to Gallery