Chapter I Intro & Objectives - SPREP

PHOENIX ISLANDS PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN
Chapter III. Background, 1. Physical Setting of the Islands
Draft 1 March 2007
The wind rose (force and direction of winds) for the Phoenix Islands was presented by Wiens
(1962), see Figure III-1.32 below. South of the equator (between 0 to 10 0 including the
Phoenix Islands), northeast winds appeared more prevalent than southeast winds (Wiens
1962).
Figure III-1.32. Wind rose for the Phoenix Islands
(source: Wiens 1962).
Rainfall in the Phoenix Islands was probably the lowest in the central Pacific (Wiens 1962).
Isohyets of annual rainfall are presented below in Figure III-1.33. The northern most islands
in the Phoenix were the driest, Abariringa and Enderbury. Birnie, Rawaki (Phoenix), and
McKean were wetter. Orona (Hull) and Manra (Sydney) were the wettest.
Figure III-1.33. Oceanic isohyets showing annual rainfall (in inches)
(source: Wiens 1962).
*note: dashed lines indicate speculative construction. Underlining indicates high
island.
37