Gilbert and Ellice Islands the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line. The Ellice Islands are midway between Hawaii and Australia. The Ellice Islands are recognised as part of the Polynesia subregion of Oceania. In 1606 Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted Butaritari and Makin, which he named the Buen Viaje (‘good trip’ in Spanish) Islands. The Gilbert Islands were named in 1820 by a Russian Admiral, Baron Johann von Krusenstern, after a British captain, Thomas Gilbert, who encountered the archipelago in 1788 while exploring an Outer Passage route from Port Jackson to Canton.
Pacific Ocean Division Pacific Ocean Division The United States Army Corps of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division (POD) is an Army organization providing Military and Host Nation Construction services, and civil works in the American states and territories in the Pacific: Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Projects include navigation, flood damage reduction, shore protection, and environmental restoration. The division is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Division Commander is directly responsible to the USACE Chief of Engineers. The Pacific Ocean Division has four districts: "This page incorporates public domain text from the United States Army Corps of