evidence: Wake Island, atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) west of Honolulu. It is an unincorporated territory of the United States and comprises three low-lying coral islets (Wilkes, Peale, and Wake) that rise from an underwater volcano to 21 feet (6 metres) above sea level and are linked by causeways. They lie in a crescent configuration on a reef 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide surrounding a lagoon, the volcano’s crater; the total land area is 2.5 square miles (6.5 square km). The atoll receives little rainfall, which may explain the absence of inhabitants when it was first sighted (1568) by the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña. Large rainwater catchments and a distillation plant for seawater have alleviated the problem. The atoll was visited by the British mariner William Wake (1796) and was charted by a U.S. expedition under Lieut. Charles Wilkes (1841). It was formally claimed by the United States in 1899 for the site of a cable station and was placed under naval jurisdiction in 1934. The following year a commercial seaplane base and hotel were built for overnight stops on transpacific flights to Guam and the Philippines.