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Kingman Reef: A Place Like No Other

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Purple, blue, and pink hard corals are found in abundance on Kingman Reef as they provide security and nourishment for other local marine life

(Photo By LCDR Eric Johnson @ NOAA)

If you’re tired of resorts and long for adventure on a grand scale, consider volunteering a bit of your time in support of a scientific survey of Kingman Reef. This magnificent and geologically intriguing reef structure is off-limits to the public, so the only way to dive here is with a scientific or educational team, and then with the blessing of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

A Nearly Submerged Wildlife Refuge

Lying approximately halfway between American Samoa and the Hawaiian Islands, Kingman Reef is the northernmost of the US Northern Line Islands. Enclosing a lagoon that drops to a maximum depth of 270 feet and encompassing twenty-nine square miles, this shark-fin shaped reef features two small strips of dry land that are frequently overtaken by ocean waves and which are incapable of supporting plant life; the reef’s highest point is just five feet above sea level. In the past, the reef has gone by a number of different names; Caldew Reef, Maria Shoal, and Danger Reef chief among them. 

Kingman Reef was officially discovered in 1798, and was annexed to the United States in 1922.The reef’s sheltered inner lagoon was used by Pan American flying boats as an overnight stopover during the 1930s; a supply ship was stationed there to provide food, water, and lodging to the passengers and crew, as well as fuel for the big flying boats. After a tragic explosion and the loss of all onboard one of these airships in 1938, Pan Am abandoned the reef site. Kingman Reef was under US Navy control until 2000, when it was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge was created in 2001, and covers the emergent coral rubble spits as well as all waters out to 12 nautical miles from the reef itself. 

Should you get the opportunity to dive Kingman Reef, you’ll find thrills beyond compare. Divers from past expeditions report encountering numerous curious sharks on every single dive, however these are not the most ferocious fish you’ll find here. Bohar snappers, which are predatory fish with huge canines are fearless and have bitten divers and drawn blood. Both the bohar snappers and the sharks are the reef’s apex predators; they keep the remainder of species in balance, ensuring the reef habitat remains healthy. 

Schooling fish are present, however they are well-thinned by the predators; they are also more wary of divers than schooling fish in some other areas are, most likely out of a sense of self-preservation. Kingman’s reef fish are also fairly shy, however they are abundant. Photographers who patiently wait for these fish to emerge from hiding spots end up capturing magnificent fish portraits. 

While Kingman is a reef, it is composed primarily of hard corals; soft corals and anemones are not the norm here. Scientists describe it as one big, circular coral colony like none other ever discovered. That, along with more than 225 fish species including rays, tuna, surgeonfish, damsels, wrasse, parrotfish, and many others, as well as several different species of giant clams is enough to keep scientists coming back. 

While there are certainly some limiting factors surrounding diving Kingman Reef, it’s not an impossible undertaking. With research and a bit of tenacity on your part, as well as a willing spirit and excellent dive skills, you might just find your way onto a scientific survey team and make your way to this amazing reef – a place that is certain to live on in your memory long after you’ve left it behind.  

Location:
  • Australia and Oceania
  • Kingman Reef
Keywords: australia and oceania dive sites, kingman reef dive sites, us northern line islands, national wildlife refuge, us fish and wildlife service, caldew reef, maria shoal, danger reef, kingman reef national wildlife refuge Author: Related Tags: Travel Articles