Malden Island is a small place.
It sits in the big ocean. The island is very dry. Many birds live there now.
It is a safe home for them. Can you see the birds?
Malden Island is in the big ocean.
It is a low and dry place. There is a salty pool in the middle.
This pool is called a lagoon. Many seabirds live on the island now.
They use the land to make homes. Long ago, people lived there too. They built things out of stone. It is a special home for birds.
Malden Island is a low, dry place in the Pacific Ocean.
It is part of the Line Islands. These islands belong to the country of Kiribati. The island is shaped like a triangle. A large, salty pool sits in the middle. This pool is called a lagoon.
Many birds live here now. It is a safe place for them to breed. You might see masked boobies or grey-backed terns.
Some birds even fly all the way from Alaska to visit.
People have used this island in many ways. Long ago, Polynesian people lived there. They built stone houses and graves.
Later, workers came to dig up guano. Guano is a type of bird waste used as plant food. They even used a special train with sails to move it. In 1957, the United Kingdom used the area for bomb tests. Today, the island is a wildlife sanctuary. This helps keep the birds and animals safe.
Malden Island is a low, dry atoll in the central Pacific Ocean.
It is part of the Line Islands and belongs to the Republic of Kiribati. This island is shaped like a large triangle. A big, salty lagoon sits in the middle of the land. This lagoon is almost entirely enclosed by the island's edges. It connects to the sea through secret underground channels. Most of the land sits to the south and west of this pool.
The island is a very special place for many living things. It is now known as the Malden Island Wildlife Sanctuary. Many species of seabirds come here to breed and rest. You might see masked boobies or grey-backed terns flying above.
Some birds, like the bristle-thighed curlew, fly all the way from Alaska. The island also has two kinds of lizards and some dragonflies. Small green turtles nest on the sandy beaches. Even hermit crabs live among the rocks and sand.
People have a long history with this lonely island. Long ago, Polynesian people lived on Malden. They built many stone structures like houses and temples.
There are 21 of these old sites on the island. Later, in the 1800s, European sailors began to visit. Captain Samuel Bunker saw the island in 1825.
Later, the island was named after a navigator named Charles Robert Malden. He explored the island while on a British warship.
For many years, workers came to the island to dig guano. Guano is bird waste that people use as fertilizer for plants. Australian companies worked there from 1860 until 1927.
Life on the island was very hard and dry. There was no fresh water to drink from wells. Workers had to use big machines to make fresh water. They even used a unique railroad to move the guano. These train cars used large sails to catch the wind. The wind would push the empty cars back to the settlement.
In the middle of the last century, the island saw a different kind of use. In 1957, the United Kingdom used the area for nuclear tests.
These were called the Operation Grapple tests. They used hydrogen bombs that were detonated high in the air. This was done a short distance away from the island. Today, the island is quiet and has no people living there. It remains a protected home for the birds and the sea.
Malden Island is a low, arid atoll located in the central Pacific Ocean.
It is part of the Line Islands and belongs to the Republic of Kiribati. The island is situated south of the equator and south of Honolulu, Hawaii. It is located more than 1,000 miles west of the South American coast. The nearest land is the uninhabited Starbuck Island to the southwest. The closest inhabited place is Tongareva, also known as Penrhyn Island. Malden is a significant site for history, biology, and environmental protection. It currently serves as the Malden Island Wildlife Sanctuary.
The geography of the atoll is defined by a unique triangular shape.
The island is roughly an equilateral triangle with sides of about 5 kilometers. A large, shallow, and irregularly shaped lagoon fills the east central part of the island. This lagoon is entirely enclosed by land, except for narrow strips on the north and east sides. It connects to the open ocean only through underground channels. Because the lagoon is connected this way, the water is quite salty. Most of the island's land area is located to the south and west of this lagoon.
The topography of Malden Island is very low and flat. No part of the island rises more than 3 meters above sea level. The highest elevations are found along a rim that follows the coastline. The interior forms a depression that is only a few meters high in the west. In the east central part, the interior is actually below sea level where the lagoon sits. This shape means that the ocean cannot be seen from much of the interior. There is no standing fresh water on the island, though a fresh water lens might exist underground.
Malden Island has a complex history involving many different groups of people.
While no people lived there when Europeans arrived, there are 21 catalogued archaeological sites. These sites show that Polynesian people occupied the island in the past. The ruins include temple platforms called marae, house sites, and graves. These structures are similar to architectural forms found in Tonga and Raivavae. Later, European sailors began documenting the island in the early 1800s. Captain Samuel Bunker first sighted it in 1825.
The island was eventually named after Lieutenant Charles Robert Malden, a navigator on the HMS Blonde.
In the late 19th century, the island became a place of industry. Australian companies exploited large deposits of phosphatic guano from 1860 to 1927. Guano is bird waste used as a valuable agricultural fertilizer.
Life for the workers was very difficult due to the extreme aridity. There were no fresh water wells, so settlers used large distillation plants to create water. The workers used a unique railroad system to transport the guano. The cars were powered by large sails. Workers pushed empty carts up the tramway, and the southeastern winds blew the loaded cars back.
In the mid-20th century, the island was used for military purposes. The United Kingdom selected Malden as an instrumentation site for Operation Grapple.
In 1957, the British detonated three thermonuclear devices, or H-bombs, at high altitudes. These tests occurred a short distance offshore. The yields of these devices ranged between 200 and 720 kilotons. Today, the island is uninhabited and serves as a protected breeding ground. It is an important site for about a dozen species of seabirds. These include masked boobies, red-footed boobies, and various species of frigatebirds and terns.
The biological importance of Malden Island is tied to its isolation. It is a vital winter stop for migratory birds like the bristle-thighed curlew, which travels from Alaska. Nineteen species of migratory seabirds use the island. The vegetation is limited to sixteen species of vascular plants, with only nine being indigenous. Much of the land is covered in stunted Sida fallax scrub and grasses. Introduced species like feral cats and house mice are still present on the island. However, the island remains a critical sanctuary for marine life, including green turtles that nest on the beaches.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (8)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.