page_title: Pearl and Hermes Atoll
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Pearl and Hermes Atoll / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bathymetrische Karte des Pearl-und-Hermes-Atolls, Nordwestliche Hawaii-Inseln English: Bathymetric map of Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
context_page_description: The Pearl and Hermes Atoll is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. The atoll consists of a variable number of flat and sandy islets, typically between five and seven. More were noted in historical sources but have since been lost to erosion and rising sea levels.
  The atoll is named after Pearl and Hermes, a pair of English whaleships that wrecked there in 1822. It has been the site of at least eight known shipwrecks, including the Japanese Wiji Maru, SS Quartette, and most recently the M/V Casitas, which ran aground on the reef in 2005.
  The atoll is an important habitat for seabirds, marine life, and invertebrate species. Twenty-two bird species nest and breed on the islands, including twenty percent of the world's population of black-footed albatrosses. The atoll has historically been included with the rest of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in conservation efforts. It is included in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, created in 2006.
caption: NOAA bathymetric map