FLINT ISLAND

southernmost coral atoll in the Southern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, southwestern Pacific Ocean, 400 miles (640 km) northwest of Tahiti. With a land area of 1 square mile (3 square km) surrounding a lagoon 3 miles by 0.5 mile, the formation rises to a level height of 25 feet (8 m). The atoll is well wooded and once produced guano and, more recently, copra. Sighted by Europeans in 1801, it was claimed by the United States in 1856 under the Guano Act. It became a part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in 1972 and a part of independent Kiribati in 1979. There are no permanent inhabitants on Flint Island.