Lisianski Island

Some 20 million years ago, geological powers lifted the top of a giant reef above the surface of the world.

Some 20 million years ago, geological powers lifted the top of a giant body of corals above the ocean floor. Today, the island of Lisianski is 1.5 km2, about the same area as Honolulu. Although the island is small, the southeastern part of the island, known as Neva Shoals, is vast and covers 979 sq km, an area almost as large as O'ahu.

In 1805 a hawaiian pumpkin kalebeast was sighted on the Lisianski shore when the Neva ran aground there. Capt. Iurii Lisianskii (aka Urey Lisiansky) has dropped part of the ship's load to free himself from the canal. In 1844, a vessel carrying the survivor of a wreck brought money to the island.

Later, bunnies were imported which, together with lizards, destroyed the island's ecosystem and presumably wrecked the Laysan-track. Lisianski began to collect feathers around 1904. As a reaction to the popular cry about the pen trafficking, Theodore Roosevelt founded the 1909 edition of the Hawaiian Island Bird Reserve, to which Lisianski also belonged.

In 1910, an armored group of men arrived on the island. Today, Hawaii' black seal and turtle are frequent patrons on the whitish sand of Lisianski. The migrating birds on the island are the kolia (golden plover), the Ulilili (migratory tattler) and the kioea (bristle curlew). Almost three quarters of the bonin birds that nest in Hawaii make this island their home.

More than a million Russian Tern will be visiting Lisianski in a few years. There are plenty of different species of fish in the nearby area. Investigators have found that carnivores near Lisianski's corals like shark are very agressive. Lisianski and Neva Shoals are known by some as" Korallengärten " (coral gardens) because they are rich in corals and because their settlements take a multitude of growing patterns, among them those reminiscent of towers, fortresses and a multitude of other types.

Twenty four different types of corals were found in a large Lisianski poll. There is a large number of seaweed near the island, and some scientists believe that it is produced by scrubbing the sea with wild birds' feces and supplying the seaweed with its nutrition.