Laysan (; 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 century and early 1900s, which resulted in the release of rabbits who had been brought in for food. After mining ceased, the rabbits ate up the natural vegetation causing dozens of plant and one bird species to go extinct. The rabbits were removed by 1923, and the island has been a nature reserve since. The island is the home of the rarest duck in the world, the Laysan Duck.
Geology
Laysan is the second largest single landmass in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, after Sand Island at Midway Atoll. Laysan was created by coral growth and geologic upshift. The fringing reefs surrounding the island cover about 735 acres (297 ha). The tallest point on the island is 50 feet (15 m) above sea level, on a large dune that covers much of the northern portion of the island. Lake Laysan, a 100-acre (40 ha), brown, hypersaline lake in the island's interior, has varied in depth over the decades. In the 1860s, the lake was at most 30 feet (9 m) deep, but by the 1920s it averaged only 3–5 feet (1–2 m) in depth, because of the build-up of sand that had been blown into it by sandstorms. The best way to find fresh water on Laysan is to observe where the finches are drinking, because fresh water floats on the saltier water and accumulates around the shore. A U.S. Geological Survey study found that Laysan, Midway Atoll, and Pacific islands like them, could become inundated and unfit to live on during the 21st century.
History
Discovery and early expeditions Native Hawaiians may have known about Kauō before Americans and Europeans sailed their ships into the region in the early 19th century (see below). The first reported sightings of the island were by Massachusetts-based whalers in the 1820s. The whalers were among many who took advantage of the newly discovered whaling grounds off the coast of Japan, making the waters around the Northwest Hawaiian archipelago an increasingly popular commercial route. The Nantucket Enquirer reported a sighting in 1825, which is probably the first reference to the name "Laysan" in print. This issue was referenced in a United States government survey of Pacific Ocean geography by J. N. Reynolds in 1828 which included the earlier whalers' reports, as well as a sighting of an island fitting Laysan's description by a Captain "Brigs" at 25° 47’ N, 172° W. That might refer to Captain John Briggs of New Bedford, who could have come across the island as early as 1822. The coordinates recorded at the time by ships were generally rough estimates, and Reynolds's report simply compiled coordinates and names reported from various sources. The Nantucket Enquirer and Reynolds's report gave the position of "Laysan's Island" as 25°50′N 171°51′W, also listing 26°2′N 173°40′W; Reynolds also listed "Lassion's Island" at 26°2′N 173°35′W. The first set of coordinates is closer to the actual Laysan, while the second and "Lassion" are much closer to the next island in the archipelago to the northwest, Lisianski Island, named for Russian naval captain Yuri Lisiansky who discovered it in 1805. Given that Lisianski Island was a known feature for over twenty years and does not appear elsewhere in the list, it is likely that both names were corruptions of "Lisianski", and the crew who sighted Kauō misidentified it as Lisianski under the name they knew it by, "Laysan", thus giving the island its current name. Various publications name Captain Stanyukovich, of the Russian ship Moller, as the discoverer of Laysan. Although he mapped the island in 1828, and attempted to name it for his ship, he was clearly there after the New Englanders, at least. In 1857, Captain John Paty, of the Manuokawai, annexed Laysan to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The island had an economic value due to the presence of guano. In 1859, Captain Brooks, of the ship Gambia, traveled to the island and wrote that there was guano there, but "not of sufficient quantity to warrant any attempts to get it". Despite that, in 1890, George D. Freeth and Charles N. Spencer successfully petitioned the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi for permission to mine guano on Laysan and agreed to make royalty payments to the Kingdom. Around 100 short tons (91 t) were extracted per day. Given that, towards the end of the guano mining era, iron-hulled sailing ships had a capacity of 5,000 short tons (4,500 t), Laysan produced a shipload every two months. Working conditions at the guano mine were grueling. In August 1900, Japanese workers mutinied against the American management. The strike action turned to violence because of a language barrier. As a result, there were two deaths and two injuries. The publicity about Laysan attracted scientists and, in the next decade, many of the island's unique species were scientifically examined for the first time. However, the guano mining affected the island's ecosystem dramatically. Professor William Alanson Bryan of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum estimated that there were 10 million seabirds on Laysan in 1903 but, eight years later, the estimate was that there were little more than a million. In those eight years, the Pritchardia palms that were unique to Laysan, and the island's sandalwood trees (Santalum ellipticum), both became extinct. 1894 marked the arrival of Laysan's most notorious inhabitant, German immigrant Max Schlemmer, who was the superintendent of the guano mining operation. He released domestic rabbits, Belgian hares, European hares and even guinea pigs on the island, expecting them to multiply and provide supplies for a future meat-canning business. That had a disastrous effect on Laysan's indigenous flora and fauna.
Period of extinction
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