can support productive groves of coconut and subsistence
crops.
There are three towers----a 300-foot steel tower at the
south point, another 100-foot tower with two large radar antennae
to the north, and a 75-foot wooden tower on the northern tip.
One large aluminum warehouse building is located on the southeast
edge toward the ocean;
other structures of wooden cornstruction
are scattered throughout
the island.
Two iarge piers are located
on the lagoon shore in the middie of the islana.
Nam Island
Nam Island is situated on the northwest corner of the atoll
and is the third largest island----approximately 3,600 feet long
and 3,000 feet wide.
The estimated 122 acres now host large
trees of Messerschmidia.
Large open areas within the inland are
covered by Fimbristylis grass and Ipomoa vines.
The soil is
relatively fertile as evidenced by the lush growth of the vegetation.
Many birds (noddies,
boobies,
terns and turnstones) nest
among the shrubs and grasses to contribute much guano to the soil
composition.
On the southwest corner of the island, where
much erosion has occurred,
due to wave action or probably from
a nuclear explosion that was detonated on a nearby island,
the
organic matter content in the soil profile runs as much as 18
Department of Energy
inches in depth.
Historian’s Office
ARCHIVES
Two large damaged concrete bunkers are located
island.
on that