United States Minor Outlying Islands

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• 🏝A statistical designation for nine uninhabited or unpopulated island territories of the United States scattered across the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
• 🏳️What does its flag mean? The United States Minor Outlying Islands have no individual flag. As territories of the United States, they officially fly the Flag of the United States: 13 red and white stripes (the original Thirteen Colonies) and 50 white stars on a blue field (the 50 states of the Union).
• 🏝️Nine scattered atolls: The designation consists of eight Pacific atolls (Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island) plus Navassa Island in the Caribbean.
• ✈️Amelia Earhart's destination: Howland Island was the intended refueling stop for aviator Amelia Earhart on her ill-fated 1937 round-the-world flight before her plane vanished.
• 🪸Pristine wildlife reserves: Nearly all these islands are protected as national wildlife refuges, serving as vast untouched sanctuaries for sea turtles, coral reefs, and millions of seabirds.