evidence: Swains Island, located in the South Pacific Ocean, is highlighted in this Proba image. This small coral atoll is comprised of an outer perimeter (approximately 13 km in circumference) of flat coral reefs and a 2.5 km² ring-shaped landmass surrounding a shallow fresh-water lagoon in the centre that is closed off from the sea. Swains Island is the northernmost island of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa – the only U.S. territory south of the equator. American Samoa consists of five volcanic islands, Tutuila, Aunu'u, Tau, Ofu and Olosega, and two coral atolls, Rose and Swains. Swains is located 340 km northwest of Tutuila. [...] Although Swains is part of U.S. territory, the same family has privately owned it for over 100 years. Eli Hutchinson Jennings Sr. said he obtained the ownership title from an explorer who had claimed rights to the island. When Swains was formally made part of American Samoa in 1925, the U.S. gave administration rights to Jennings’ children.