Laysan

Laysan

Native name: Kauō
Aerial view of Laysan from the north
Map of the Hawaiian Islands showing the location of Laysan, in the middle of the northwestern chain
Laysan Show map of Hawaiian Islands Laysan Show map of Pacific Ocean
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	25°46′12″N 171°44′15″W / 25.77000°N 171.73750°W / 25.77000; -171.73750
Archipelago	Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Area	1,016 acres (411 ha)
Length	1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Width	1 mi (2 km)
Administration
United States
State	Hawaii
County	Honolulu
Demographics
Population	0

Laysan (/ˈlaɪsɑːn/;^[1] Hawaiian: Kauō [kɐwˈoː]) is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, located 808 nautical miles (930 mi; 1,496 km) northwest of Honolulu. It has one land mass of 1,016 acres (411 ha), about 1 by 1+1⁄2 miles (1.6 by 2.4 km) in size. It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds Laysan Lake, some 2.4 m (7.9 ft) above sea level, that has a salinity approximately three times greater than the ocean. Laysan's Hawaiian name, Kauō, means "egg".

It was mined for guano in the late 19th and early 1900s, which resulted in the release of rabbits which had been brought in for food. After the mining shutdown, the rabbits ate up natural vegetation causing a couple dozen plant species to go extinct and one bird species. The rabbits were removed by 1923, and from then on until modern times its a nature reserve.

The island is the home of the rarest duck in the world, the Laysan Duck.