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Th© L©6ws.rd Islands of th© Hci wsixsux ©rcliipol^f^o foprn. ct chsiin 
vhieh expends for 1600 miles to the northwest of the rain islands 
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Inis Leeward chain consists of nine small islands progressin 
from volcanic remnants at the southeast to atolls at the northwest. 
In addition, there are eighteen rocks and coral Islets. With the 
exception of Tern Island (French Frigate Shoals), Midway and Kure—— 
which have Coast Guard installations— tho islands are uninhabited. 
They form the Northwest Hawaii Wildlife Refuge, under the jurisdiction 
of the Bureau of Sports Fisheries and Wildlife, U. S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. Descriptions of the 
Individual islands may be found in Bryan (1). 
Nihoa Island, the easternmost and highest of the Leewards, is 
about 250 miles northwest of Honolulu m latitude 23 ° 05 'N.'ssfdi. 
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longitude l6l° 58 'W.\ (■*e ^g svS^/^ it is believed to have been *a high ^ 
volcanic peak at one time, but all except a small portion of the 
outer southwest slope has eroded away (S&). What remains is a 
saddle-shaped islet about 500 meters long by 100 to 330 meters 
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wide, with a area of approximately hectares^ The north side 
of the island is a nearly perpendicular cliff rising almost 130 meters 
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near its middle and more than 260 meters at each end! ‘ The cliffs 
continue around the east and west side, never dropping below 35 
meters. From the north, the terrain falls sharply to the south- 
central side In a series of six shallow valleys. The entire south 
side is bordered by a narrow, wave-cut terrace broken in three 
places—at the : ouths of East Valley and West Valley, and between 
Middle and Miller Valleys. The average slope of Nihoa Is 40 °. 
This steepness, in addition to the large rocks and the lack of 
gravel on the valley floors, indicates that the valleys occasionally 
experience swift but ephemeral streams during unusually heavy rain. 
During part of the year there is a small, sandy beach in the western 
cove of Adams Bay. , 1. 
