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Palmyra Atoll
A Center for Scientific Study
Located a 1,000 miles south of Hawai'i and an untold distance from civilization, Palmyra Atoll is one of the most spectacular marine wilderness areas on Earth. The Nature Conservancy bought Palmyra in 2000 from the Fullard-Leo family, who had previously turned down offers to have the atoll used as a nuclear waste site and a casino.
Today, Palmyra is a national marine monument and the Conservancy and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are partnering to protect it. Through the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium, it is also being developed as a center for scientific study. What we can learn at Palmyra—about global climate change, coral reefs, marine restoration and invasive species—promises to inform conservation strategies for island ecosystems throughout the Pacific and around the world.
Explore Palmyra
A project that removed all black rats from Palmyra is expected to be a boon for the atoll's wildife.
Thanks to its many supporters, the Nature Conservancy made great conservation happen in 2011.
World War II changed Palmyra, transforming this remote Pacific Atoll into a bustling military installation.
Palmyra is a treasure chest of biological riches and a natural marine laboratory.
Palmyra has never been settled and has a colorful history dating back 200 years.
Palmyra is a small, isolated atoll of great ecological importance.
Palmyra serves as a refuge for many endangered species, including the rare coconut crab.
Palmyra is home to more than a million nesting seabirds, including large colonies of sooty terns.
Palmyra is that rare place where top predators such as sharks still dominate the reef ecosystem.
Multimedia
See Palmyra through the eyes of Conservancy marine scientist Kydd Pollock.
Images from the past depict Palmyra as it was during the Second World War.
Follow the action and see how the Palmyra Restoration Project was carried out.
Find Palmyra on a Map
Palmyra Atoll, a U.S. territory located 1,052 miles south of Hawai'i, is located in an area known as the intertropical convergence zone, where trade winds from the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere meet, just above the equator.
"Palmyra Island, with its pristine coral reefs and central Pacific location, is a virtual treasure chest of science that has never been fully explored."
Charles Kennel, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography
"Palmyra is a jewel of America's coral reefs. It should be protected from exploitation and be a place where future generations can, for all time, marvel at the pristine natural wonders of the nation's tropical seas."
Bruce Babbitt, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior
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