Laysan is in the middle of the leeward island chain.

Laysan (Hawaiian: Kauō), located at N25° 42' 14" W171° 44' 04", is one of the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It comprises one land mass of about 1,015 acres (4.1 km²), about 1 by 1.5 miles in size (1.6 by 2.4 km). Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanoes that stretches about 2,700km in a northwestern direction from the Island of Hawaii (Big Island). ... Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanoes that stretches about 2,700km in a northwestern direction from the Island of Hawaii (Big Island). ... Hawaiian is the ancestral language of the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiians, a Polynesian people. ... the Hawaiian island chain . ... An acre is a measure of land area in Imperial units or U.S. customary units. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ...

Interesting physical characteristics include fringing reefs along portions of the coastline and, within the island, a large body of water about eight feet (2.4 meters) above sea level that has a salinity about three times higher than the surrounding ocean. A reef surrounding an islet. ... A foot (plural: feet) is a non-SI unit of distance or length, measuring around a third of a metre. ... The metre (American spelling: meter), symbol: m, is the basic unit of distance (or of length, in the parlance of the physical sciences) in the International System of Units. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. ...

Laysan is noted for its bird life; early expeditions to the island in the 19th century estimated the avian population at several hundred thousand or even several million. However, the island's ecosystem was all but destroyed by human influence around the turn of the 20th century. A period of guano harvesting lasting about a dozen years was followed by the introduction, for commercial purposes, of rabbits that bred rapidly and devoured most of the island's vegetation. Complaints about this and about Japanese poachers led President Theodore Roosevelt to declare the northwestern island chain a bird sanctuary in 1909. The bird population had by that time been reduced to about a tenth of its former size, and three endemic species had become extinct. Two other endemic species, the Laysan Duck and the Laysan Finch, survive to this day, but are endangered. Orders Many - see section below. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... In ecology, an ecosystem is a naturally occurring assemblage of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms—also referred to as a biotic community or biocoenosis) living together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a unit of sorts. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... The nest of the Guanay cormorant is made of guano Guano (from the Quechua wanu) is the name given to the collected droppings of seabirds and bats. ... Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae, found in many parts of the world. ... A seashell vendor sells seashells which have been taken alive from the water, killing the animal inside. ... Order: 26th President Vice President: Charles Warren Fairbanks Term of office: September 14, 1901 – March 3, 1909 Preceded by: William McKinley Succeeded by: William Howard Taft Date of birth: October 27, 1858 Place of birth: New York City Date of death: January 6, 1919 Place of death: Oyster Bay, New... 1909 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the ecological meaning of endemic. See also endemic (epidemiology). ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... Binomial name Anas laysanensis Rothschild, 1892 The Laysan Duck, Anas laysanensis, is a dabbling duck which is endemic to Laysan Island, Hawaii. ... Binomial name Telespiza cantans (Wilson, SB, 1890) The Laysan Finch, Telespiza cantans, is a small yet bold bird found in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. ... For other uses, see endangered species. ...

Laysan was inhabited by humans for a period in the early 20th century, during the guano mining operations and the introduction of rabbits. Like all of the northwestern Hawaiian islands, it is currently uninhabited. It is protected by the Hawaiian Natural Life Act of 1961 and cared for by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who have had success in eliminating pests and restoring native vegetation and animal populations. The USFWS logo The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a unit of the United States Department of the Interior that is dedicated to managing and preserving wildlife. ...

External links

• Ecological description of Laysan (http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/laysan.html)
• History of Laysan (http://www.janeresture.com/laysan/)