The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls, plus two submerged coral reefs in the central Pacific Ocean, east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are part of Kiribati. During the late 1930s they were the site of the last attempted colonial expansion of the British Empire (the Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... An atoll is a type of low, coral island found in tropical oceans and consisting of a coral-algal reef usually surrounding an interior body of water called a lagoon. ... Subclasses Alcyonaria Zoantharia See text for orders. ... A reef surrounding an islet. ... The Gilbert Islands are a chain of 16 atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of the nation Kiribati. ... The Line Islands are a group of mostly atolls in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... The Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme was begun in 1938 in the western Pacific ocean and was the last attempt at human colonization within the British Empire. ...

The group is uninhabited except for a few families on Kanton (41 people according to the 2005 census). The United States territories Baker Island and Howland Island can be considered northerly outliers of the group, in a geographic sense. Those two are statistically grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. All of the islands (not including the reefs) were claimed by the United States at some point. Canton Island - NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image Orthographic projection centred on Kanton Island Kanton Island (also known as Canton Island or Abariringa Island), alternatively Mary Island, Mary Balcout Island or Swallow Island, is the largest, most northern, and, as of 2005, the sole inhabited island of the... An incorporated territory of the United States is a specific area under the jurisdiction of the United States, over which the United States Congress has determined that the United States Constitution is to be applied in its entirety, in the same manner as it applies to the individual U.S... The flag of the United States is used for all of the United States Minor Outlying Islands The United States Minor Outlying Islands, a statistical designation defined by ISO 3166-1, consists of nine insular United States possessions: All of these islands are in the Pacific Ocean except Navassa Island...

The islands are named after the whaling ship Phoenix of Nantucket, Massachusetts, which was active in the area and also the discoverer of Winslow Reef.^[1] Phoenix, or Phenix, was an American wooden whaler plying the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean from its base in Nantucket, Massachusetts, from 1821-1861. ... Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Nantucket County Settled 1641 Incorporated 1671 Government type Open town meeting Area    - Town  105. ... Winslow Reef is an underwater feature of the Phoenix Islands, Republic of Kiribati, located 200 km NNW of McKean Island at . ...

^* The lagoon areas marked with an asterisk are contained within the island areas of the previous column because they are, unlike in the case of a typical atoll, inland waters completely sealed off from the sea.

The islands and surrounding areas are home to some 120 species of coral and more than 500 species of fish. Kiribati has announced plans to establish a huge marine park. [1]

Notes

1. ^ University of Hawaii website for the Phoenix Islands