SOOTY TERNS BREEDING ON PALMYRA 
Palmyra (5°52'K, l62°06'W) is 
a coral atoll of many small islets 
on a barrier reef enclosing three 
distinct lagoons. The islets are 
scattered over an area 5 _ l/2 miles 
from east to west and l-l/2 miles 
from north to south. They are low 
- the highest about six feet above 
sea level - and are heavily over- 
grown with vegetation. Coconut and 
other trees reach heights of 60 to 
100 feet. Cooper Island, the larg- 
est islet, has an area of 46 acres 
and is on the northern side of the 
Atoll. During World War II an air- 
base with a runway 6000 feet long 
was constructed on Palmyra. Most of 
the base was located on Cooper 
Island. 
After being abandoned in 1949, 
Palmyra was reoccupied for scien- 
tific purposes during i960. The 
airstrip was an important part of 
the logistic support of the scien- 
tific program and was renovated. At 
present Palmyra is occupied by me- 
teorologists working on the Line 
Islands Experiment, a project to 
study the meteorology of tropical 
disturbances, directed by the Na- 
(Cont'd on next page) 
Sooty Tern Colony on Palmyra Photo by C. C. Mathewson 
