A number of islands were claimed as insular areas on behalf of the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. These claims were made by private individuals to the U.S. Department of State and were not accepted by the United States unless certain conditions were met. The islands had to be unoccupied and outside the jurisdiction of another government; the claims also had to be bonded before the U.S. government would consider them insular areas of the country. , only the eight islands administered as the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands and the ones now part of Hawaii and American Samoa remain under the jurisdiction of the United States. Any other unresolved claims, if they exist, are dormant, and have not been contested by the United States in many years with the exception of Navassa.

Table Island Region Alternate name Coordinates Current status Resolution of U.S. claim Alto Velo Island Caribbean Alta Vela Island Claim rejected with U.S. acknowledging Dominican claims. See Alto Velo Claim. Atafu Oceania Duke of York Group Tokelau Claim bonded in 1860, but was never acted upon. Britain claimed in 1899. Final renouncement of any U.S. claim with Treaty of Tokehega Ashmore Reef Indian Ocean Caller Group Australian Territory Claimed in 1878 but never bonded, British sovereignty acknowledged. Bajo Nuevo Bank Caribbean Petrel Islands Remains in place as an unincorporated territory.De facto administered by Colombia, and also claimed by Jamaica and Nicaragua. Baker Island Oceania New Nantucket US Minor Islands Unincorporated territory Birnie Island Oceania Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Butaritari Oceania Makin Atoll, Makin Island, Touching Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Caroline Island Oceania Millennium Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Carondelet Reef Oceania Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Clipperton Island Pacific Ocean Passion Island France U.S. claim never bonded with the U.S. acknowledging France's claim. French and Mexican dispute settled via arbitration in France's favor by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy in 1931. See Clipperton Island case. Cayo Arenas Gulf of Mexico Arenas Key; Arenas Island Mexico Bond filed and approved in 1881; US claim renounced in 1894. Ducie Island Oceania British Territory Never bonded. Administered by Pitcairn Islands. Enderbury Island Oceania Guano Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Fakaofo Oceania Bowditch Island Tokelau No formal claim filed; however, any U.S. claim renounced in Treaty of Tokehega Flint Island Oceania Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Oceania Kānemilohaʻi Hawaii Assumed sole competing claim through annexation of Hawaii(1898); included in State of Hawaii (1959). Funafuti Oceania Ellice's Group Tuvalu Tuvalu–US Treaty of 1983 Howland Island Oceania Worth Island US Minor Islands Unincorporated territory Isla de Aves Caribbean Isla de Aves Venezuela United States–Venezuela Maritime Boundary Treaty Îles du Connétable Constable Islands France Rescinded. Administered by French Guiana. Jarvis Island Oceania Bunker Island US Minor Islands Unincorporated territory Johnston Atoll Oceania US Minor Islands Unincorporated territory Kanton Island Oceania Canton Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Kingman Reef Oceania Danger Rock US Minor Islands Unincorporated territory Kiritimati Oceania Christmas Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Lacepede Islands Oceania Lacapade Islands Australia Claim made on 26 June 1876; repudiated by US government in 1877. Makin (atoll) Oceania Little Makin Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Malden Island Oceania Independence Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Manihiki Oceania Island of Pearls Cook Islands Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty Manra Oceania Sydney Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa McKean Island Oceania Wigram Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Midway Atoll Oceania Middlebrook Islands US Minor Islands Unincorporated territory Minami-Tori-shima Oceania Marcus Island Japan Returned to Japan in 1968 after it had been given to US by Treaty of San Francisco Nassau (Cook Islands) Oceania Te Nuku-o-Ngalewu Cook Islands Sold to Cook Islands in 1945 by the Samoa Shipping and Trading Company. Navassa Island Caribbean Navaza Administered by the United States as an unincorporated territory and one of the US Minor Islands. Also claimed by Haiti. Nikumaroro Oceania Gardner Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Niulakita Oceania Sophia Island, Rocky Island, Nurakita Tuvalu Tuvalu–US Treaty of 1983 Nukufetau Oceania De Peyster's Group Tuvalu Tuvalu–US Treaty of 1983 Nukulaelae Oceania Mitchell's Group Tuvalu Tuvalu–US Treaty of 1983 Nukunonu Oceania Duke of Clarence Island Tokelau Claim bonded in 1860, but was never acted upon. Britain claimed in 1899. Final renouncement of any U.S. claim with Treaty of Tokehega Orona Oceania Hull Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Palmyra Atoll Oceania US Minor Islands Incorporated territory. U.S. assumed sole competing claim through annexation of Hawaii (1898), but not included in State of Hawaii (1959). Penrhyn Island Oceania Tongareva Cook Islands Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty Providence IslandIndian Ocean Seychelles Claim never bonded. Administered by Seychelles. Pukapuka Oceania San Bernardo Island, Danger Island Cook Islands Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty Quita Sueño Bank Caribbean Quitasueño Colombia Rakahanga Oceania Cook Islands Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty Rawaki Island Oceania Phoenix Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Roncador Bank Caribbean Colombia Vásquez-Saccio Treaty of 1972 Scorpion Reef Arrecife Alacranes (Isla Pérez, Isla Chica, Isla Pájaros) Mexico The islets of Pájaros, Pérez, and Chica were bonded in 1884. In response to a protest by Mexico, the U.S. claims were abandoned in 1894. Serrana Bank Caribbean Colombia Vásquez-Saccio Treaty of 1972 Serranilla Bank Caribbean Remains in place as an unincorporated territory. Colombia and Jamaica agreed to a condominium of Serranilla's exclusive economic zone; Nicaragua also lays claim. Starbuck Island Oceania Volunteer Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Swains Island. Oceania Olohega, Olosega, Quirós, Isla de la Gente Hermosa, Jennings Island Occupied by an American since 1856. Bonded under the Guano Islands Act in 1860. Acknowledged as U.S. territory by Britain in 1910. In 1925 was incorporated into the territory of American Samoa. U.S. claim recognized by New Zealand in Treaty of Tokehega, but later disputed by Tokelau. Swan Islands Caribbean Islas Santanilla Honduras Honduras–US Treaty of 1972 Tabuaeran Oceania Fanning Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Teraina Oceania Washington Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Vostok Island Oceania Staver Island Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa Winslow Reef Oceania Kiribati Treaty of Tarawa

Images

See also Guano Territories of the United States Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument

References

Further reading