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Midway Atoll, also called Midway Island, is part of the territory called the United States Minor Outlying Islands. Designated as part of the 583,000-square-mile Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in 2006, the atoll is home to 70% of the world’s Laysan albatross population, whose individuals can live to 55 years or more. An important breeding ground for the Laysan albatross, the birds inhabit the entire island, including human settlements. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Midway was utilized as an overnight refueling stop for Pan Am’s transpacific flying boat routes on the leg between Hawai’i and Wake Island. Encounters with the Laysan albatross were well documented by Pan Am’s staff and passengers. The awkwardness of the bird on land and their behavioral antics entertained residents and visiting passengers, earning them the nickname “gooney bird.”
This image was posted on April 18, 2023.
This post mentions the following things involved with the SFO Museum collection:
Pan American Airways.
It is related to
Pan American World Airways (the company)
.