View source for Earth:Necker Island (Hawaii)

{{confuse|Necker Island (British Virgin Islands)}}
{{short description|Small island in Hawaii}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Necker Island Archeological District
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = File:Necker island.jpg
| caption      = An aerial view of Necker Island from the northeast.
| nearest_city = Pu'uwai, Ni'ihau, Kaua'i County, Hawaii
| area         = {{convert|45.193|acre|m2|abbr=on}}
| architect    =
| architecture =
| added        = June 13, 1988
| refnum       = 88000641<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
}}

[[File:Hawaiianislandchain_USGS.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Map showing the location of Necker Island in the Hawaiian island chain]]
[[File:Necker map lrg.gif|thumb|Map of Necker Island]]
'''Necker Island''' ({{lang-haw|'''Mokumanamana'''}} "branched island")<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mokumanamana {{!}} Ocean Futures Society|url=https://www.oceanfutures.org/exploration/expeditions/voyage-kure/expedition-log/mokumanamana|access-date=2021-10-21|website=www.oceanfutures.org}}</ref> is a small island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is located at {{coord|23|34|30|N|164|42|01|W|region:US-HI_type:isle|display=inline,title}} in the Pacific Ocean, {{convert|430|mi|nmi km|}} northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, {{convert|155|mi|nmi km|}} northwest of [[Earth:Nihoa|Nihoa]],<ref name="tohawaiineckerisland">{{Cite web|title=Necker Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands|url=https://www.to-hawaii.com/neckerisland.php|access-date=2021-10-21|website=www.to-hawaii.com}}</ref> and {{convert|8|mi|nmi km|0}} north of the Tropic of Cancer. It is part of the State of Hawaii in the {{wipe|United States}}. It contains important prehistoric archaeological sites of the Hawaiian culture and is part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge within the [[Biology:Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument|Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]].

The United States Census Bureau reports Necker Island's land area as {{convert|45.193|acre|ha}}.<ref name=census41ares>[https://www.census.gov|b=50|l=en|t=4001|zf=0.0|ms=sel_00dec|dw=0.0434325535289488|dh=0.030379461750392432|dt=gov.census.aff.domain.map.EnglishMapExtent|if=gif|cx=-157.9258718592724|cy=21.666164504299697|zl=3|pz=3|bo=318:317:316:314:313:323:319|bl=362:393:358:357:356:355:354|ft=350:349:335:389:388:332:331|fl=381:403:204:380:369:379:368|g=05000US15003&-PANEL_ID=p_dt_geo_map&-_lang=en&-geo_id=100$10000US150030114981001&-CONTEXT=dt&-format=&-search_results=100$10000US150030114981001&-CHECK_SEARCH_RESULTS=N&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-fully_or_partially=N Necker Island: Block 1001, Block Group 1, Census Tract 114.98, Honolulu County, Hawaii], United States Census Bureau.</ref> The island is rocky with steep sides and has very little soil. Its highest elevation is {{convert|277|ft|m}}. The island is named after Jacques Necker, a finance minister of Louis XVI.

==Administration==

Politically, Necker Island is part of the City and County of Honolulu<ref name=bryanp10>Bryan, p. 10.</ref> in the State of Hawaii. However, as part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, it is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It has no resident human population.

==Geography==

The remnant of a [[Earth:Volcanic cone|volcanic cone]],<ref name=Harrisonp13>Harrison, p. 13.</ref> Necker Island is located about {{convert|120|km|nmi mi|sp=us|0}} southeast of the [[Earth:French Frigate Shoals|French Frigate Shoals]]<ref name=Harrisonp14>Harrison, p. 14.</ref> on the northwestern end of a large, shallow [[Earth:Ocean bank|ocean bank]].<ref>Harrison, pp. 13–14.</ref> It is a hook-shaped rocky ridge about {{convert|1.3|km|1|sp=us}} long and between {{convert|60|and|200|m|sp=us|0}} wide.<ref name=bryanp8>Bryan,p. 8.</ref><ref name=Harrisonp14/> Composed of [[Earth:Basalt|basalt]],<ref name="papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit">{{Cite web|title=Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument|url=https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/visit/moku.html|access-date=2021-10-21|website=www.papahanaumokuakea.gov}}</ref> the island is steep-sided and barren, with very little soil,<ref name=tohawaiineckerisland/> and its rocks are heavily scoured and [[Earth:Erosion|eroded]].<ref name="usfwsmokumanamana">{{Cite web|title=Mokumanamana (Necker Island) - Hawaiian Islands - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|url=https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Hawaiian_Islands/about/Mokumanamana.html|access-date=2021-10-21|website=www.fws.gov}}</ref> It is the second-smallest of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> with a total area of {{convert|45.193|acre|ha}} according to the United States Census Bureau<ref name=census41ares/> or {{convert|41|acre}}<ref name=bryanp8/> or {{convert|39.5|acre|0}} according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/>

The westernmost point on Necker Island is Mo'o Point (or Mo'o Head). The island's "hook" is Northwest Cape, a narrow spur that reaches a maximum height of 48 meters (156&nbsp;ft) and juts northeastward from the west end of the island for {{convert|183|m|sp=us|0}}.<ref name=rauzonp27>Rauzon, p. 27.</ref> Northwest Cape is connected to the rest of the island by a narrow gap that is barely above [[Sea level|sea level]].<ref name=Harrisonp14/> Northwest Cape's tip is the northernmost point of the island.<ref name=rauzonp27/>

The main ridge of the island and Northwest Cape combine to partially enclose Shark Bay along the northern shore of the island; the bay opens to the northeast and usually is subject to rough seas.<ref name=bryanp8/> Along the island's western shore, West Cove lies between Mo'o Point and the southern end of Northwest Cape.<ref name=rauzonp27/> A small [[Earth:Islet|islet]], {{convert|300|ft|0}} long and rising {{convert|10|ft|0}} above sea level, lies just off Necker Island's eastern tip.<ref name=bryanp8/>

The main ridge of Necker Island has five peaks. East to west, they are:<ref name=bryanp8/>

*Siever's Peak, {{convert|61|m|sp=us}} high
*Bowl Hill (or Bryan Peak), {{convert|79|m|sp=us}} high
*Summit Hill (or Vaughn Peak), 84 meters (277&nbsp;ft) high, the island's highest point
*Flagpole Hill, {{convert|56.4|m|sp=us}} high
*Annexation Peak (also Annexation Hill or Captain Brown Peak), 75 meters (247&nbsp;ft) high

Bowl Cave is located on the northern slope of Bowl Hill. It is an important [[Social:Archaeological site|archaeological site]].<ref name=rauzonp32>Rauzon, p. 32.</ref>

Necker Island has an average annual rainfall of just under {{convert|25|in|0}}.<ref name=tohawaiineckerisland/>

[[File:Atoll research bulletin (1977) (20159366959).jpg|880px]]

==Flora and fauna==

Vegetation on Necker Island is limited to low shrubs and grasses, none more than {{convert|2|ft|1}} tall.<ref name=bryanp8/> Five species of plants are known to occur:<ref name=bryanp8/>
*Goosefoot shrub (''Chenopodium sandwicheum''), found on the island's terraced slopes
*Bunch grass (''Panicum torridum'') (i.e., ''kakonakona''), which grows on the north slope of the ridge
*Purslane (''[[Biology:Portulaca lutea|Portulaca lutea]]'') (i.e., ''ihi'' weed), found on flat tops of the ridge
*Pickle weed (''[[Biology:Sesuvium portulacastrum|Sesuvium portulacastrum]]''), a patch of which grows on the lower northeastern slope of Annexation Hill, where [[Earth:Sea spray|ocean spray]] from waves breaking in Shark Bay can reach it
*Ohai shrub (''Sesbania tomentasa''), which grows on the crest of the ridge

The forester of the Territory of Hawaii attempted to introduce six other species of plants to Necker Island in June 1923, but all had died out by the latter half of the 1930s, if not earlier.<ref name=bryanp8/>

The island is also noted for large numbers of birds.<ref name=bryanp8/> About 16 species of seabird nest on Necker Island;<ref name=rauzonp29>Rauzon, p. 29.</ref> during nesting season, an estimated 60,000 birds nest on the island, and their eggs cover virtually every piece of level ground.<ref name=bryanp8/><ref name=rauzonp29/> A seabird first observed at Necker Island and at the [[Earth:French Frigate Shoals|French Frigate Shoals]] and Nihoa in 1902 originally was thought to be new to science and was given the scientific name ''Procelsterna saxatalis'' and the popular name "Necker Island tern," but it later was identified as a [[Biology:Subspecies|subspecies]] of the blue-grey noddy, already known from farther south in the Pacific.<ref name=rauzonp28>Rauzon, p. 28.</ref><ref name="theauk19030401">{{Cite journal|last=J. A. A.|date=1903-04-01|title=Fisher on a New Tern from Necker Island?|url=https://doi.org/10.2307/4069859|journal=The Auk|volume=20|issue=2|pages=230|doi=10.2307/4069859|jstor=4069859|issn=1938-4254}}</ref> No land birds live on the island.<ref name="Harrisonp14" /> Land animals found on the island include [[Biology:Land snail|land snail]]s and 15 [[Biology:Species|species]] of insect found nowhere else, as well as [[Biology:Wolf spider|wolf spider]]s and bird [[Biology:Tick|tick]]s.<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/>

Although it is the second-smallest of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Necker Island has the second-largest surrounding [[Biology:Marine habitats|marine habitat]] among the islands, totaling {{convert|385,000|acre}}, with Shark Bay, West Cove, Northwest Cape, and miles of shallow [[Earth:Reef|reef]] to the southeast of the island providing large offshore habitats.<ref name=papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit/><ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> Runoff from the heavily eroded rock surfaces of the island and the constant wave action that scours its underwater basalt structure interfere with the growth of [[Biology:Coral|coral]]s; little coral life exists in the shallow areas surrounding the island,<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> and it lacks a [[Earth:Fringing reef|fringing reef]].<ref name=Harrisonp14/> However, 16 species of [[Biology:Scleractinia|stony coral]] live in the area, and Necker is the easternmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago where table corals of the [[Biology:Genus|genus]] ''[[Biology:Acropora|Acropora]]'' are found.<ref name=papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit/> Gray reef sharks and [[Biology:Manta ray|manta ray]]s are common off the island, and [[Biology:Hawaiian monk seal|Hawaiian monk seal]]s populate its shores, some giving birth to pups there.<ref name=papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit/><ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/><ref name=Harrisonp14/> [[Biology:Green sea turtle|Green sea turtle]]s bask on the shore in the narrow gap between the main island and Northwest Cape, but they do not breed on Necker Island because the island lacks sandy beaches in which they could lay their eggs.<ref name=Harrisonp14/> A great abundance and diversity of [[Biology:Sea cucumber|sea cucumber]]s, [[Biology:Sea urchin|sea urchin]]s, and [[Biology:Lobster|lobster]]s live in Shark Bay.<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> Extensive deeper "shelves" extend many miles from the island's shallow reef, especially to the southeast, and commercial fishing takes place over these shelves,<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> which produce much of Hawaii's catch of [[Biology:Green jobfish|green jobfish]], known locally as gray snapper or ''uku''.<ref name=papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit/> [[Earth:Deep sea fish|Deep sea fish]] types that live hundreds of meters (yards) below the surface along the underwater slopes of Necker Island include fishes of the [[Biology:Order|orders]] [[Biology:Stomiiformes|Stomiiformes]], [[Biology:Gadiformes|Gadiformes]], [[Biology:Myctophiformes|Myctophiformes]], and [[Biology:Aulopiformes|Aulopiformes]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mejía-Mercado|first1=Beatriz E.|last2=Mundy|first2=Bruce|last3=Baco|first3=Amy R.|date=2019-10-01|title=Variation in the structure of the deep-sea fish assemblages on Necker Island, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands|journal=Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers|language=en|volume=152|pages=103086|doi=10.1016/j.dsr.2019.103086|s2cid=201316222|issn=0967-0637|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Archaeology==
[[File:Necker Island Standing Stones.jpg|thumb|200px|Standing stones of Necker Island]]
Necker Island is known for its numerous religious sites and cultural objects.<ref name=papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit/> There are few, if any, signs of long-term habitation, giving rise to the theory that people visited the island for short periods from other islands instead of settling permanently.<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> Many [[Social:Anthropology|anthropologists]] believe that the island was a ceremonial and religious site. Necker has 55 currently known sites including 33 ritual sites called ''heiau,'' while the remaining sites represent agricultural terraces, miscellaneous platforms, and shelter caves — of which Bowl Cave is the largest.<ref name="usfwsmokumanamana" /> Cultural sites on Necker Island are contemporaneous with those on [[Earth:Nihoa|Nihoa]] and appear to have been abandoned at roughly the same time several centuries prior to European contact with the Hawaiian Islands.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Emory |first=Kenneth P. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50920432 |title=Archaeology of Nihoa and Necker Islands |date=2002 |publisher=Bishop Museum Press |isbn=1-56647-565-1 |location=Honolulu |oclc=50920432}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Kirch |first=Patrick Vinton |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11841243 |title=Feathered gods and fishhooks : an introduction to Hawaiian archaeology and prehistory |date=1985 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=0-8248-0981-5 |location=Honolulu |oclc=11841243}}</ref>

The heiau on Necker Island and [[Earth:Nihoa|Nihoa]] are unique in the Hawaiian chain representing a raised pavement of basalt stones with upright stones placed across this pavement often near the edges as opposed to the form common to other islands in the chain represented by a high stacked stone wall enclosing a central space.<ref name=":0" /> This difference in form represents an earlier iteration of Hawaiian monumental architecture that offers a unique perspective on cultural norms prior to the abandonment of Necker.<ref name=":1" /> Thanks to this difference in form, scholars often use the term 'marae' as opposed to 'heiau' in reference to these structures and some scholars argue that the shift in form represents a shift in ritual practice in Hawaii.<ref name=":2" />

Artifacts excavated on Necker Island show a remarkable number of artifacts that would normally be made out of wood rendered in stone. This is especially true of the presence of a series of remarkable carved stone bowls and a bird snare that would have required far more time and effort to create from stone. Additionally, a series of human figures carved from local stone have been recovered from Necker. These statues are up to 1.5 feet (0.5 m) in length and differ in style and medium to similar sculptures (usually rendered in wood) recovered elsewhere in Hawaii.<ref name=":0" /> Other artifacts include [[Engineering:Adze|adze]]s, fish and squid lures, hammer stones, awls, and other stone tools commonly found across the Hawaiian Islands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archeology of the "Mystery Islands" Nihoa and Mokumanamana (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/archeology-of-the-mystery-islands.htm |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>

According to the oral traditions of the people of [[Earth:Kauai|Kauai]], which lies to the southeast, Necker Island was the last known refuge for a race of mythical "little people" called the ''[[Religion:Menehune|Menehune]]''. According to the legend, the ''Menehune'' settled on Necker Island after being chased off Kauai by the stronger Polynesians and subsequently built the various stone structures there. {{Citation needed|reason=Is there a specific oral history to reference here?|date=March 2022}}

==History==
[[Earth:Geology|Geological]] research in the early 21st century indicates that Necker Island is about 10 million years old.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK208869/ Evolution in Hawaii: A Supplement to Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science. Olson S. Washington (DC); 2004.]</ref> While it rises only about 84 meters (277&nbsp;ft) above [[Sea level|sea level]] now, it reached {{convert|1,000|m|sp=us|0}} in height earlier in its history and at one time was comparable in size to modern Oahu.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK208869 
National Academy of Sciences. (2004). ''Evolution in Hawaii: A Supplement to Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science'', by Steve Olson. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2004.</ref><ref name=Taillemite>Taillemite.</ref>

Hawaiians appear to have started visiting Necker Island a few hundred years after they settled the main Hawaiian Islands. Archaeologists believe that the island's poor soil for farming and its small size and relative lack of rainfall made it uninhabitable, and that the Hawaiians visited from Nihoa and other nearby islands to worship at religious sites without establishing any permanent settlements.<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> Their visits appear to have ended a few hundred years before [[Biography:White people|European]] contact, and by the time Europeans first visited Hawaii in the late eighteenth century, Necker Island apparently was unknown to the Hawaiians.<ref name="bryanp9">Bryan, p. 9.</ref>

The French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse was on a mission of exploration for the French Academy of Sciences aboard the ships ''L'Astrolabe'' (under command of Fleuriot de Langle) and ''La Boussole''<ref>Novaresio, 1996. p. 181 "Lapérouse ships, ''Astrolabe'' and ''Boussole''"</ref> and had just discovered the [[Earth:French Frigate Shoals|French Frigate Shoals]] (''Basse des Frégates Françaises'') and his namesake rock La Perouse Pinnacle<ref name=Taillemite/><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=http://www.hawaiianatolls.org/about/ffs.php |title=French Frigate Shoals |access-date=2012-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213050721/http://www.hawaiianatolls.org/about/ffs.php |archive-date=2007-02-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref> when on November 4, 1786, he became the first European to visit Necker Island.<ref name=bryanp9/><ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> La Pérouse did not attempt to land on the island due to its nearly vertical sides and the violent seas breaking on its shore, but he sailed within a third of a [[League (unit)|league]] of it and named it after Jacques Necker, a Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI of France.<ref name=papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit/><ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/><ref name=Taillemite/> Although the expedition was lost at sea in 1788, it was able to send its logs home before its loss, bringing the island's existence to the attention of Europeans.<ref name=Taillemite/> The first people to set foot on Necker Island in modern times appear to have been the British seaman John Turnbull of the ship ''Margaret'', who visited the Hawaiian Islands between December 17, 1802, and January 21, 1803, and two Hawaiian pearl divers in his employ; the three men landed on the island during an expedition to find [[Chemistry:Pearl|pearl]]s on a reef in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.<ref name=bryanp9/>

[[Engineering:Sea captain|Captain]] John<ref name=bryanp9/> or William<ref name=Taillemite/> Paty (sources disagree on Paty's first name) claimed Necker Island for the [[History:Kingdom of Hawaii|Kingdom of Hawaii]] in 1857, although he did not land on the island.<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/><ref name=Taillemite/> The claim was disputed over the following decades.<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> In January 1859, United States Navy Lieutenant J. M. Brook aboard the survey [[Engineering:Schooner|schooner]] {{USS|Fenimore Cooper|1853|6}} visited Necker Island and determined its position.<ref name=bryanp9/> During the summer of 1859, Captain N. C. Brook of the Hawaiian [[Engineering:Barque|barque]] ''Gambia'' passed the island during a [[Biology:Seal hunting|sealing]] and exploration voyage, but did not report landing on it.<ref name=bryanp9/>

As late as the early 1890s, the Kingdom of Hawaii's claim to Necker Island remained in dispute, and the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} was considering the island as a potential waypoint location for a [[Engineering:Submarine communications cable|submarine communications cable]] between {{wipe|Canada}} and {{wipe|Australia}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Representatives|first=New Zealand Parliament House of|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbE-AQAAMAAJ&dq=necker+island+pacific&pg=RA22-PA32|title=Journal. Appendix|date=1900|language=en}}</ref> as part of the [[Place:British Empire|British Empire]] telegraph network known informally as the All Red Line. The Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1893 and replaced by the Provisional Government of Hawaii, and when the British [[Engineering:Corvette|corvette]] {{HMS|Champion|1878|6}} arrived at Honolulu in 1894, the provisional government's president, Sanford B. Dole, became concerned that the United Kingdom was about to establish a claim to Necker Island. Wishing to curry favor with the {{wipe|United States}} rather than the United Kingdom, Dole immediately dispatched an expedition under Captain James A. King to Necker to [[Earth:Annexation|annex]] the island. On May 27, 1894, a landing party of 12 men led by King went ashore on Necker for four hours, raised the flag of Hawaii on what became known as Annexation Hill, and read an annexation proclamation.<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/><ref>Bryan, pp. 9–10.</ref> The move brought international disputes over claims to the island to an end and the island was included in the Republic of Hawaii when it was founded on July 4, 1894, although the British government continued to attempt to negotiate with the Hawaiian government over use of Necker Island and on September 24, 1894, ''Champion'' landed a party on the island.<ref name=Taillemite/><ref name=bryanp10/> On July 12, 1895, King led a Hawaiian government expedition — which also included the first director of the Bishop Museum, William Tufts Brigham, and Professor William DeWitt Alexander — to Necker to [[Engineering:Surveying|survey]] and [[Earth:Cartography|map]] the island and conduct archaeological research.<ref name=bryanp10/> On August 12, 1898, the {{wipe|United States}} annexed the Hawaiian Islands, including Necker Island, and Necker was included in the Territory of Hawaii upon its creation on April 30, 1900.

In 1902, the United States Fish Commission research ship USFC ''Albatross'' visited Necker Island, and her personnel thought they discovered the "Necker Island tern" there, as well as on Nihoa and at the French Frigate Shoals, during their visit, although the bird later was determined to be a subspecies of the blue-grey noddy, already known from farther south in the Pacific.<ref name=rauzonp28/><ref name=theauk19030401/> The island was leased for commercial fishing purposes for 21 years on June 2, 1904, and on February 3, 1909, it became part of the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation, managed jointly by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Territory of Hawaii.<ref name=bryanp10/>

George N. Wilcox visited Necker Island twice on unrecorded dates, and the United States Revenue Cutter Service revenue cutter USRC ''Thetis'' visited the island in 1910 and 1913,<ref name=bryanp10/> as did an expedition led by H. L. Tucker in 1917.<ref name=bryanp10/> The warden of the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation landed on the island on October 6, 1919, and found stone artifacts during his visit.<ref name=bryanp10/> The ''Tanager'' Expedition visited Necker Island in 1923 and 1924, and is noted for exploring the island's [[Biology:Biology|biology]] and [[Earth:Archaeology|archaeology]];<ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/> during its first visit, from June 12 to 29, 1923, it mapped the island and studied its flora and fauna in detail, and on its return visit from July 14 to July 17, 1924, it conducted a thorough [[Survey (archaeology)|archaeological survey]].<ref name=bryanp10/>

On August 21, 1959, the state of Hawaii was created, and Necker was included in the new state. Because of Necker Island's usage by Native Hawaiians as a ceremonial and religious site in Ancient Hawaii, the United States government added the island to its National Register of Historic Places in 1988. In 1997, members of the Native Hawaiian organization ''Hui Mälama I Nä Kupuna O Hawaiʻi Nei'' ("Hawaiʻi Ancestral Care Association") visited the island to rebury human bones found there which had been transported to Honolulu and kept at Bishop Museum.<ref name=papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit/><ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/>

In the early 21st century, Necker Island was a place of study for benthic invertebrates and [[Biology:Algae|algal]] assemblages.<ref>[https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.167.1.2 Spatial and Temporal Comparisons of Benthic Composition at Necker Island, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands 2011]</ref> On June 15, 2006, the United States established the [[Biology:Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument|Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]], with Necker Island within its boundaries.

==Access==

Access to Necker Island is by boat, and is quite difficult because of the island's nearly vertical coastline.<ref name=bryanp8/> Heavy surf usually precludes landings along the coast in Shark Bay, but a small [[Windward and leeward|lee]] exists west of Northwest Cape, and landing on rocky shelves there is possible in moderately calm weather<ref name=bryanp8/> but can be dangerous in high surf.<ref name=Harrisonp14/>

Visits to Necker Island are permitted only for scientific, educational, and cultural purposes and require the approval of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which gives preference to scientific and cultural visits.<ref name=papahanaumokuakeavirtualvisit/><ref name=usfwsmokumanamana/>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180px" class="center">
File:Annexation of Mokumanamana.jpg|Ceremony for the annexation of Necker Island (Mokumanamana) by the Provisional Government of Hawaii, May 27, 1894.
File:Necker Island 1969.jpg|Necker Island
File:Necker Island 440 FWS.jpg|Moʻo Point (or Moʻo Head), the westernmost point of Necker Island
File:Neckerisland.jpg|Necker Island
</gallery>

==See also==
* List of volcanoes in the Hawaiian – Emperor seamount chain
* List of islands
* [[Desert island]]
* Necker Island (British Virgin Islands) (dab)
* [[Unsolved:Stonehenge|Stonehenge]] (famous site with standing stones)

==References==
===Footnotes===
{{reflist|2}}

===Bibliography===

*[https://books.google.com/books?id=R5g6AQAAIAAJ&dq=1923+tanager+nihoa&pg=RA2-PP3 Bryan, Edwin H.,Jr. ''The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: An Annotated Bibliography''. Honolulu: United States Fish and Wildlife Service, April 1978.]
*[http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?BioId=36018 Étienne Taillemite, “GALAUP, JEAN-FRANÇOIS DE, Comte de LAPÉROUSE,” in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 4, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed October 14, 2021.]
*[https://hanahou.com/13.4/mystery-islands Gilmore, Roland. "Mystery Islands." ''Hana Hou! The Magazine of Hawaiian Airlines''. August–September 2010.]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZO2YDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22airfield%22+Necker+Island+Hawaii&pg=PA14 Harrison, Craig S., ''Seabirds of Hawaii: Natural History and Conservation'', Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1990] {{ISBN|978-0-801-49722-3}}
*[https://georgehbalazs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2001-NECKER-ISLAND.pdf Rauzon, Mark J. ''Isles of Refuge: Wlldlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.]

==Further reading==
*{{cite book
  | editor-last1 = Evenhuis
  | editor-first1 = Neal L. 
  | editor-last2 = Eldredge
  | editor-first2 = Lucius G. 
  | title = Natural History of Nihoa and Necker Islands
  | publisher = Bishop Museum Press
  | series = Bishop Museum Bulletin in Cultural and Environmental Studies; No. 1
  | year = 2004
  | location = Honolulu, Hawaii
  | isbn = 1-58178-029-X
}}
*{{cite encyclopedia|title=Necker Island |encyclopedia=The Columbia Gazetteer of North America |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2000 |url=http://www.bartleby.com/69/77/N01677.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020329052837/http://www.bartleby.com/69/77/N01677.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2002-03-29 }}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090618065801/http://www.hawaiianatolls.org/about/mokumanamana.php Northwest Hawaiian Islands Multi-Agency Education Project "Necker Island"]
*[http://www.janeresture.com/necker/ Janeresture.com: Necker Island]
*[https://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/episodes/kure/diaries/mokumanamana.html PBS Ocean Adventures website: Quick Facts on Necker Island]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060929195811/http://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/eco_essays/nwhi/necker.html NOAA Essay]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110903082931/http://pmnmims.org/ Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Information Management System]
*[https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PROJECTS/HawaiiReef/necker.html Pictures of Necker Island] (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration)
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQAPFY-Eg8M Mokumanamana To Be Visited During Makali'i Voyage (June 14, 2019) on YouTube]
*[https://m.facebook.com/watch/?extid=SEO----&v=182551013827224&_rdr Voyaging Canoes Expect to Reach Mokumanamana this Evening (video)]
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{{Hawaiian volcanism}}
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[[Category:Miocene volcanoes]]
[[Category:Paleogene Oceania]]

{{Sourceattribution|Necker Island (Hawaii)}}