United States Minor Outlying Islands Travel Guide

United States Minor Outlying Islands OVERVIEW

A weird creation it is, albeit pristine and unruffled. It's not quite clear why the 11 islands scattered over the Pacific and the Caribbean have been grouped as insular areas of the United States for they lack not only proximity but also any consistent cultural heritage or political history. Wait a minute, though. There's that Guano Islands Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1856 saying that:

Whenever any citizen of the United States discovers a deposit of guano on any island, rock, or key, not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other Government, and not occupied by the citizens of any other Government, and takes peaceable possession thereof, and occupies the same, such island, rock, or key may, at the discretion of the President, be considered as appertaining to the United States.


-first section of Guano Islands Acta

So, be it for statistical convenience or down to agricultural fertilizers, the United States Minor Outlying Islands are a whole - unincorporated, almost uninhabited, and quite pleasant as for an entity with guano at its foundation. But frankly, there's little chance that you're going to set foot on any of the atolls, unless you're a member of military and scientific personnel, an eccentric, or part of a cruise ship expedition. And even if you do, please don't spread the word. The though of a place existing without hotels stacked up like domino along the shore is just so good.