Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, National Wildlife Refuge on Midway Atoll, United States

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge covers 590,991.50 acres of land and water around a ring-shaped barrier reef nearly 5 mi (8 km) across. Its three islands are Sand Island, which has an airstrip and about 50 residents, Eastern Island, uninhabited and without facilities, and narrow Spit Island on the reef. The atoll lies 1,310 mi (2,110 km) northwest of Honolulu.

Captain N.C. Brooks of the sealing ship Gambia sighted the atoll in 1859, but the United States assumed it had acquired Midway independently when Captain William Reynolds of USS Lackawanna visited in 1867. Naval Air Facility Midway Island operated from 1941 to 1993; aircraft from Henderson Field on Eastern Island helped sink four Japanese carriers and one heavy cruiser in the Battle of Midway, June 4–6, 1942. The Hawaii Admission Act of 1959 excluded Midway from the new state of Hawaii.

Hawaiian names for the atoll are Kuaihelani, "the backbone of heaven", and Pihemanu, "the loud din of birds". The second name records the sound of the seabird colonies that dominate the islands. The refuge lies within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, and its 2012 visitor programme, the last year it ran, brought 332 people to the atoll for tours of its ecology and military history.

Visiting is possible only for business reasons: permanent and temporary staff, contractors and volunteers. The tourism programme was suspended after 2012, when 332 people made the trip. Nearly all supplies arrive by ship or plane, and a hydroponic greenhouse and garden supply some fresh produce. Midway keeps Samoa Time, one hour behind Hawaii.

Midway is the only atoll in the Hawaiian chain that is not part of the state of Hawaii: the Hawaii Admission Act of 1959 explicitly excluded it, along with Palmyra, Johnston and Kingman Reef, from the new state's jurisdiction. It also keeps Samoa Time, eleven hours behind UTC and one hour behind Hawaii.