View source for Clipperton Island

{{Short description|Atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}<!--Official anglophile language of France is British English (with Oxford grammar), identical to the European Union-->
{{Infobox islands
|name                         = Clipperton
|native_name                  = {{native name|fr|La Passion–Clipperton}}
|sobriquet                    = <!-- or |nickname= -->
|image_name                   = Ile_de_Clipperton_(carte-en).svg
|image_size                   =
|image_caption                = Clipperton Atoll with lagoon with depths (metres)
|image_alt                    = Clipperton Atoll with enclosed lagoon with depths (metres)
|image_map                    = Clipperton Island in its region.svg
|image_map_caption            = Location of Clipperton Island
|image_map_alt                = A view of the location of Clipperton Island on a map
|pushpin_map                  = Pacific Ocean
|pushpin_relief               = yes
|pushpin_map_label            = Clipperton Island
|pushpin_map_caption          = Location in the Pacific Ocean
|label                        =
|label_position               =
|coordinates                  = {{Coord|10|18|N|109|13|W|region:FR-CP_type:isle|display=inline,title}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Findlay |first1=A. G. |last2=Maury |first2=M. F. |date=1853 |title=Oceanic Currents, and Their Connection with the Proposed Central-America Canals |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London]] |volume=23 |pages=217–242 |doi=10.2307/1797966 |jstor=1797966 }}</ref>
|etymology                    =
|location                     = [[Pacific Ocean]]
|archipelago                  = Lagoon
|waterbody                    =
|total_islands                =
|major_islands                =
|area_km2                     = 8.9
|area_footnotes               = <ref>{{Cite book |title=Les aires protégées insulaires et littorales tropicales |date=2003 |publisher=CRET |isbn=2-905081-45-7 |series=Îles et Archipels Nº32 |location=Bordeaux |language=fr |trans-title=Tropical island and coastal protected areas |chapter=Clipperton – Île de la Passion: une aire française du Pacifique à protéger |trans-chapter=Clipperton – Île de la Passion: a French area in the Pacific to be protected |oclc=492187765 |page=244 |last=Jost |first=Christian H. |author-link=Christian Jost (geographer) |editor1-last=Lebigre |editor1-first=Jean-Michel |editor2-last=Decoudras |editor2-first=Pierre-Marie}}</ref>
|length_km                    = 3
|length_footnotes             =
|width_km                     = 4
|width_footnotes              =
|coastline_km                 = 11.1
|coastline_footnotes          =
|elevation_m                  = 29
|elevation_footnotes          =
|highest_mount                = Clipperton Rock
|Country_heading              =
|country                      = France
|country_admin_divisions_title= [[Overseas France#Special status|State private property]]
|country_admin_divisions      = Île de Clipperton
|country_area_km2             = <!-- or |country_area_m2= or |country_area_ha= -->
|demonym                      =
|population                   = 0
|population_as_of             = 1945
|population_footnotes         =
|timezone1                    = [[Time in France|CIST]]<ref>{{cite act |type=Décret |index=2017-292 |date=6 March 2017 |title=Décret n° 2017-292 du 6 mars 2017 relatif au temps légal français |trans-title=Decree No. 2017-292 of March 6, 2017 relating to French legal time |page=2 |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2017/3/6/2017-292/jo/texte |language=fr |access-date=2023-04-06 |archive-date=8 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308022058/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2017/3/6/2017-292/jo/texte |url-status=live}}</ref>
|utc_offset1                  = -8
|timezone1_DST                =
|utc_offset1_DST              =
|postal_code                  = 98799{{efn|The island is assigned a [[Postal codes in France|French postal code]], but there is no [[post office]] on the island.<ref>{{cite news |first=Pierre |last=Jullien |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/mondephilatelique/article/2020/04/17/clipperton-une-passion-americano-franco-mexicaine_6036911_5470897.html |title=Clipperton: une " passion " américano-franco-mexicaine |trans-title=Clipperton: An American-Franco-Mexican "Passion" |newspaper=Le Monde |date=2020-04-17 |language=fr |access-date=2022-07-31 |archive-date=31 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731215822/https://www.lemonde.fr/mondephilatelique/article/2020/04/17/clipperton-une-passion-americano-franco-mexicaine_6036911_5470897.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
|website                      = <!-- [http://www.outre-mer.gouv.fr/polynesie-francaise-lile-de-clipperton L'île de Clipperton] URL is dead -->
|additional_info              = {{ubl|'''[[INSEE code]]:''' 989|[[Exclusive economic zone|'''EEZ:''']] {{cvt|431273|km2|sqmi}} }}
}}

'''Clipperton Island''' ({{Langx|fr|link=no|La Passion–Clipperton}} {{IPA|fr|la pasjɔ̃ klipœʁtɔn|}}; {{Langx|es|link=no|Isla de la Pasión}}), also known as '''Clipperton Atoll'''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Glynn |first1=P. W. |last2=Veron |first2=J. E. N. |last3=Wellington |first3=G. M. |date=June 1996 |title=Clipperton Atoll (eastern Pacific): oceanography, geomorphology, reef-building coral ecology and biogeography |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/BF01771897 |journal=[[Coral Reefs]]|volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=71–99 |doi=10.1007/BF01771897 |bibcode=1996CorRe..15...71G |s2cid=33353663 |issn=0722-4028 |access-date=3 April 2023 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410154021/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01771897 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and previously as '''Clipperton's Rock''',<ref name="Morrell-1841">{{Citation |last=Morrell |first=Benjamin |title=A Narrative of Four Voyages to the South Sea, North and South, Pacific Ocean, Chinese Sea, Ethiopic and Southern Atlantic Ocean, Indian and Antarctic Ocean from the Years 1822 to 1831 |date=1841 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/158890#page/9/mode/1up |page=219 |access-date=2023-04-01 |place=New York, New York |publisher=Harper & Brothers |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401020041/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/158890#page/9/mode/1up |url-status=live }}</ref> is an {{Convert|8.9|km2|sqmi|lk=on|abbr=on|adj=on}} uninhabited coral [[atoll]] in the eastern [[Pacific Ocean]]. The only [[France|French]] territory in the North Pacific, Clipperton is {{Convert|10675|km|nmi|lk=on|abbr=on}} from [[Paris]], France; {{Convert|5400|km|nmi|lk=off|abbr=on}} from [[Papeete]], [[French Polynesia]]; and {{Convert|1280|km|nmi|lk=off|abbr=on}} from [[Acapulco]], Guerrero.

Clipperton was documented by French merchant-explorers in 1711 and formally claimed as part of the French protectorate of [[Kingdom of Tahiti|Tahiti]] in 1858. Despite this, American [[guano]] miners began working the island in the early 1890s. As interest in the island grew, Mexico asserted a claim to the island based upon Spanish records from the 1520s that may have identified the island. Mexico established a small military colony on the island in 1905, but during the [[Mexican Revolution]] contact with the mainland became infrequent, most of the colonists died, and lighthouse keeper Victoriano Álvarez instituted a short, brutal reign as "king" of the island. Eleven survivors were rescued in 1917 and Clipperton was abandoned.

The dispute between Mexico and France over Clipperton was taken to binding [[international arbitration]] in 1909. [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]], King of Italy, was chosen as arbitrator and [[Clipperton Island case|decided in 1931]] that the island was French territory. Despite the ruling, Clipperton remained largely uninhabited until 1944 when the U.S. Navy established a weather station on the island to support its war efforts in the Pacific. France protested and, as concerns about Japanese activity in the eastern Pacific waned, the U.S. abandoned the site in late 1945.

Since the end of World War II, Clipperton has primarily been the site for scientific expeditions to study the island's wildlife and marine life, including its significant [[masked booby|masked]] and [[brown booby]] colonies. It has also hosted climate scientists and amateur radio [[DX-pedition]]s. Plans to develop the island for trade and tourism have been considered, but none have been enacted and the island remains mostly uninhabited with periodic visits from the [[French Navy]].

==Geography==
[[File:Localisation de l'ile de Clipperton.png|thumb|left|Location of Clipperton Island]]
The [[coral island]] is located at {{Coord|10|18|N|109|13|W|name=Clipperton Island|type:isle_region:FR-CP|display=inline}} in the East Pacific, {{Convert|1080|km|nmi|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} southwest of Mexico, {{Convert|2424|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} west of [[Nicaragua]], {{Convert|2545|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} west of [[Costa Rica]], and {{Convert|2390|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} northwest of the [[Galápagos Islands]] in [[Ecuador]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hinz|first1=Earl R.|last2=Howard|first2=Jim|date=2006|title=Landfalls of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the Pacific Islands|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-4518-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZYBEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22clipperton%22+%22new+caledonia%22+%22oceania%22&pg=PA378|access-date=4 February 2022|quote=French Polynesia operates as a CEPT country under French authority, but still requires local permission and a local call sign (as do the other French colonies in Oceania: Clipperton, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna.)|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404082232/https://books.google.com/books?id=wZYBEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22clipperton%22+%22new+caledonia%22+%22oceania%22&pg=PA378|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Todd|first=Ian|date=1974|title=Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama|publisher=Angus & Robertson|page=190|isbn=978-0-207-12761-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gcEJAQAAIAAJ&q=%22French+language+cultures%22+1974+pacific|access-date=2 February 2022|quote=On the other side of Oceania, about 1,800 miles (2,897 km) west of the Panama Canal, is another French possession, Clipperton Island.|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404112846/https://books.google.com/books?id=gcEJAQAAIAAJ&q=%22French+language+cultures%22+1974+pacific|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mustin |first1=Lloyd Montague |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1395066970 |title=Witness to Neptune's inferno: the Pacific War diary of Lieutenant Commander Lloyd M. Mustin, USS Atlanta (CL 51) |last2=Winkler |first2=David F. |date=2024 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=978-1-63624-407-5 |location=Havertown, PA |oclc=on1395066970}}</ref> The nearest land is [[Socorro Island]], about {{Convert|945|km|nmi|lk=off|abbr=on}} to the northwest in the [[Revillagigedo Islands|Revillagigedo Archipelago]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ineich|first1=Ivan|last2=Zug|first2=George|date=1991|title=Nomenclatural status of Emoia cyanura (Lacertilia, Scincidae) populations in the Central Pacific|journal=[[Copeia]]|volume=1991|issue=4|pages=1132–1136|publisher=American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists|doi=10.2307/1446114|jstor=1446114|quote=Its distribution encompasses much of Oceania from the Hawaiian archipelago, Clipperton Island, and Easter Island westward through Polynesia and Melanesia}}</ref> The nearest French-owned island is [[Hiva Oa]] in the [[Marquesas Islands]] of [[French Polynesia]], which is about 3,300&nbsp;km (1,781 nmi) southeast of Clipperton.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-outre-terre-2022-1-page-467.htm |title=L'Indo-Pacifique et la souveraineté de la France en Océanie |journal=Outre-Terre |date=16 March 2022 |volume=6061 |issue=1 |pages=467–503 |last1=Fisher |first1=Denise |doi=10.3917/oute2.060.0468 |s2cid=247540315 |access-date=29 July 2022 |archive-date=29 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729135043/https://www.cairn.info/revue-outre-terre-2022-1-page-467.htm |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bempéchat|first=Paul-André|date=2017|title=Jean Cras, Polymath of Music and Letters|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-56175-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DCcxDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22in+oceania%22+%22clipperton%22&pg=PT72|access-date=18 February 2022|quote=In India, French settlements included Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanaon, Mahé and Chandernagore; and in Oceania, Clipperton, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Vanuatu (shared with the British Empire)|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405032334/https://books.google.com/books?id=DCcxDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22in+oceania%22+%22clipperton%22&pg=PT72|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite its proximity to North America, Clipperton is often considered one of the eastern-most points of [[Oceania]] because it is part of the French Indo-Pacific,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Terry|first=James P.|date=1988|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gs3aAAAAMAAJ&q=%22cocos+island%22+%22oceania%22+%22costa%22|title=Climate and Environmental Change in the Pacific|publisher=The University of Michigan|page=5|isbn=978-982-01-0358-0|access-date=11 March 2022|quote=The British added the Ellice, Pitcairn and portions of the Phoenix Islands; the Australians consolidated their claims to Papua; and the French consolidated their claims to Clipperton islands; Easter and adjacent islands were claimed by Chile, Cocos Island was claimed by Costa Rica, and the Galapagos claimed by Ecuador. By 1900, there were virtually no remaining islands in Oceania unclaimed by foreign powers.|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405032336/https://books.google.com/books?id=Gs3aAAAAMAAJ&q=%22cocos+island%22+%22oceania%22+%22costa%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12399-022-00893-w |doi=10.1007/s12399-022-00893-w |title=France in the Pacific. History of a Discreet Presence |year=2022 |last1=Flichy de la Neuville |first1=Thomas |last2=De Gentile |first2=Eleonore |journal=Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik |volume=15 |pages=69–82 |s2cid=248174340 |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730010823/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12399-022-00893-w |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and its marine fauna are similar to those of [[Hawaii]] and [[Kiribati]]'s [[Line Islands]]—Clipperton lies on [[Eastern Tropical Pacific]] migration paths.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fourriére |first1=Manon |last2=Reyes-Bonilla |first2=Héctor |last3=Rodríguez-Zaragoza |first3=Fabián A. |last4=Crane |first4=Nicole |date=2014 |title=Fishes of Clipperton Atoll, Eastern Pacific: Checklist, Endemism, and Analysis of Completeness of the Inventory |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.2984/68.3.7 |journal=Pacific Science|volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=375–395 |doi=10.2984/68.3.7 |s2cid=56166137 |issn=0030-8870 |access-date=13 June 2023 |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707144328/https://bioone.org/journals/pacific-science/volume-68/issue-3/68.3.7/Fishes-of-Clipperton-Atoll-Eastern-Pacific--Checklist-Endemism-and/10.2984/68.3.7.short |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Romero-Torres-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Romero-Torres |first1=Mauricio |last2=Treml |first2=Eric A. |last3=Acosta |first3=Alberto |last4=Paz-García |first4=David A. |title=The Eastern Tropical Pacific coral population connectivity and the role of the Eastern Pacific Barrier |journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |date=19 June 2018 |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=9354 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-27644-2 |pmid=29921956 |pmc=6008413 |bibcode=2018NatSR...8.9354R }}</ref><ref name="Robertson-1996">{{cite journal |last1=Robertson |first1=D. R. |last2=Allen |first2=G. R. |title=Zoogeography of the shorefish fauna of Clipperton Atoll |journal=[[Coral Reefs]] |date=1 June 1996 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=121–131 |doi=10.1007/BF01771902 |bibcode=1996CorRe..15..121R |s2cid=41906452 }}</ref> The island is the only emerged part of the [[East Pacific Rise]], as well as the only feature in the [[Clipperton fracture zone]] that breaks the ocean's surface, and it is one of the few islands in the Pacific that lacks an underwater [[archipelagic apron]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Klitgord |first1=Kim D. |last2=Mammerickx |first2=Jacqueline |date=1982-08-10 |title=Northern East Pacific Rise: Magnetic anomaly and bathymetric framework |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1029/JB087iB08p06725 |journal=[[Journal of Geophysical Research|Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth]]|volume=87 |issue=B8 |pages=6725–6750 |doi=10.1029/JB087iB08p06725|bibcode=1982JGR....87.6725K |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Menard |first=Henry W. |date=1956 |title=Archipelagic Aprons |url=http://search.datapages.com/data/doi/10.1306/5CEAE56B-16BB-11D7-8645000102C1865D |journal=[[AAPG Bulletin]]|volume=40 |doi=10.1306/5CEAE56B-16BB-11D7-8645000102C1865D |issn=0149-1423 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=13 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813011654/http://search.datapages.com/data/doi/10.1306/5CEAE56B-16BB-11D7-8645000102C1865D |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Clipperton Fracture Zone in the Northeastern Equatorial Pacific |last1=Menard |first1=H. W. |last2=Fisher |first2=Robert L. |journal=The Journal of Geology |date=1958 |volume=66 |issue=3 |page=240 |doi=10.1086/626502 |jstor=30080925|bibcode=1958JG.....66..239M |s2cid=129268203 }}</ref>

The atoll is low-lying and largely barren, with some scattered grasses, and a few clumps of [[Coconut|coconut palms]] (''Cocos nucifera'').<ref name="Sacotte-1978">{{cite web |url=http://www.clipperton2008.org/fo0xa-h.htm |title=Dx pedition on Clipperton |last=Sacotte |first=Jean-Charles |translator-last=Jeanne |translator-first= Sylvie |date=March 1, 1978 |website=1978 Dxpedition to Clipperton Atoll |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229191750/http://www.clipperton2008.org/fo0xa-h.htm |archive-date=2008-12-29 |publisher=Clipperton DX Club |access-date=2023-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jost |first1=Xenia |last2=Jost |first2=Christian H. |last3=Meyer |first3=Jean-Yves |date=2019-06-06 |title=Flora and Vegetation of Clipperton (La Passion) Atoll, North-Eastern Pacific Ocean: Three Centuries of Changes and Recent Plant Dynamics |url=https://smithsonian.figshare.com/articles/Flora_and_Vegetation_of_Clipperton_La_Passion_Atoll_North-Eastern_Pacific_Ocean_Three_Centuries_of_Changes_and_Recent_Plant_Dynamics/9761729 |journal=Atoll Research Bulletin|issue=623 |pages=1–31 |doi=10.5479/si.0077-5630.623 |s2cid=197962758 |issn=0077-5630 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=10 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210183858/https://smithsonian.figshare.com/articles/Flora_and_Vegetation_of_Clipperton_La_Passion_Atoll_North-Eastern_Pacific_Ocean_Three_Centuries_of_Changes_and_Recent_Plant_Dynamics/9761729 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> The land ring surrounding the lagoon measures {{convert|1.7|km2|mi2}} in area with an average elevation of {{Convert|2|m|ft|lk=on|abbr=on}}, although a small [[Volcano|volcanic]] outcropping, referred to as [[Clipperton Rock]] ({{lang|fr|Rocher de Clipperton}}), rises to {{Convert|29|m|ft|lk=on|abbr=on}} on its southeast side.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Clipperton Island pictures and history|url=http://www.qsl.net/clipperton2000/history.html|website=QSL.net|publisher=2000 DXpedition to Clipperton Island|access-date=27 April 2022|archive-date=13 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413123917/https://www.qsl.net/clipperton2000/history.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The surrounding {{convert|3.7|km2|mi2|adj=on}} reef hosts an abundance of corals and is partly exposed at low tide.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pogoreutz |first1=Claudia |last2=Clua |first2=Eric E. G. |last3=Tortolero-Langarica |first3=J. J. Adolfo |date=2022 |title=High live coral cover and incidence of a pink-spotted coral phenotype on remote reefs off Clipperton Island, Tropical Eastern Pacific |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00227-022-04101-3 |journal=[[Marine Biology (journal)|Marine Biology]]|volume=169 |issue=9 |page=115 |doi=10.1007/s00227-022-04101-3 |bibcode=2022MarBi.169..115P |s2cid=257057229 |issn=0025-3162 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410154003/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-022-04101-3 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Terrestrial Ecoregions">{{WWF ecoregion|id=nt0705|name=Eastern Pacific Ocean, southeast of Mexico|access-date=17 June 2012}}</ref> In 2001 a [[geodetic marker]] was placed to evaluate if the land is rising or sinking.<ref name="Tchekémian-2022">{{Cite journal |last=Tchekémian |first=Anthony |date=2022 |title=Clipperton, seul territoire français dans l'océan Pacifique nord-oriental: quels enjeux environnementaux et géopolitiques? |trans-title=Clipperton, the only French territory in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean: what are the environmental and geopolitical issues? |url=https://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/23485 |journal=Études caribiéennes |language=French |volume=51 |access-date=2023-12-22}}</ref>

[[File:Clipperton Rock (1899).jpg|thumb|1899 sketch of Clipperton Rock from the ''Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College'', after a photograph|alt=Illustration of rocky outcropping over water]]
Clipperton Rock is the remains of the island's now extinct volcano's rim;<ref name="Wheeler-2012">{{Cite news |last=Wheeler |first=Quentin |date=2012-08-11 |title=New to nature No 80: Callyspongia roosevelti|work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/12/new-to-nature-callyspongia-roosevelti |access-date=2023-04-01 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401014539/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/12/new-to-nature-callyspongia-roosevelti |url-status=live }}</ref> because it includes this rocky outcropping, Clipperton is not a true atoll and is sometimes referred to as a 'near-atoll'.<ref>{{Cite report |last=Limbaugh |first=Conrad |date=1959-05-01 |title=August – September 1958. Field Report. IGY Clipperton Island Expedition |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/20c152nj|access-date=31 March 2023 |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331165543/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/20c152nj |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Goldberg |first1=Walter M. |title=A Global Atlas of Atolls |date=2023-07-14 |place=Boca Raton |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-003-28733-9 |last2=Rankey |first2=Eugene C.|doi=10.1201/9781003287339-1 }}</ref> The surrounding reef in combination with the weather makes landing on the island difficult and anchoring offshore hazardous for larger ships; in the 1940s American ships reported active problems in this regard.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 June 1945 |title=War Diary of USS Pontotoc (AVS-7) |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/140045451 |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=catalog.archives.gov |series=World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories, between ca. January 1, 1942–ca. June 1, 1946. |publisher=U.S. National Archives and Records Administration |page=1 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401032300/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/140045451 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite interview|last=Rose|first=Neil|title=Voices of WWII: Neil Rose|work=Friends of the National WWII Memorial|location=Washington, DC|url=https://www.wwiimemorialfriends.org/voices/neil-rose|access-date=2023-04-01|archive-date=1 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401072431/https://www.wwiimemorialfriends.org/voices/neil-rose|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fluckey-2012">{{cite interview |last=Fluckey |first=Owen |interviewer=Richard Misenhimer |title=An Interview with Owen E. Fluckey |work=[[National Museum of the Pacific War]] |date=July 3, 2012 |location=Argos, Indiana |url=https://digitalarchive.pacificwarmuseum.org/digital/collection/p16769coll1/id/2750 |access-date=2023-04-01 |page=16 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401055245/https://digitalarchive.pacificwarmuseum.org/digital/collection/p16769coll1/id/2750 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Environment==
The environment of Clipperton Island has been studied extensively with the first recordings and sample collection being done in the 1800s.<ref name="Sachet-1962" /> Modern research on Clipperton is focused primarily on climate science and migratory wildlife.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Eckert |first1=Scott A. |chapter=Telemetry and satellite tracking of whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, and the north Pacific Ocean |date=2001 |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-94-017-3245-1_17 |title=The behavior and sensory biology of elasmobranch fishes: an anthology in memory of Donald Richard Nelson |volume=20 |pages=299–308 |editor-last=Tricas |editor-first=Timothy C. |access-date=2023-05-29 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |doi=10.1007/978-94-017-3245-1_17 |isbn=978-90-481-5655-9 |last2=Stewart |first2=Brent S. |series=Developments in environmental biology of fishes |editor2-last=Gruber |editor2-first=Samuel H. |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707144242/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-3245-1_17 |url-status=live |chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Maul |first1=George A. |chapter=A Note on Sea Level Variability at Clipperton Island from Geosat and In-Situ Observations |date=2013-03-21 |chapter-url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1029/GM069p0145 |title=Geophysical Monograph Series |pages=145–154 |editor-last=Woodworth |editor-first=P.L. |access-date=2023-05-29 |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=American Geophysical Union |doi=10.1029/gm069p0145 |isbn=978-1-118-66652-4 |last2=Hansen |first2=Donald V. |last3=Bravo |first3=Nicolas J. |editor2-last=Pugh |editor2-first=D.T. |editor3-last=DeRonde |editor3-first=J.G. |editor4-last=Warrick |editor4-first=R.G. |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707144306/https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/GM069p0145 |url-status=live |chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Temmen |first1=John |last2=Montenegro |first2=Alvaro |last3=Juras |first3=Sreya |last4=Field |first4=Julie S. |last5=DeGrand |first5=Jim |date=2022 |title=Floating the sweet potato to Polynesia: Considering the feasibility of oceanic drift for the prehistoric introduction of the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) to Pacific Islands |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379122003407 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|volume=295 |article-number=107709 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107709 |bibcode=2022QSRv..29507709T |s2cid=252548506 |access-date=29 May 2023 |archive-date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530230439/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379122003407 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The SURPACLIP oceanographic expedition, a joint undertaking by the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]] and the [[University of New Caledonia|University of New Caledonia Nouméa]], made extensive studies of the island in 1997.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lebigre |first1=Jean-Michel |title=Les aires protégées insulaires et littorales tropicales actes du colloque |last2=Decoudras |first2=Pierre-Marie |date=March 2, 2004 |publisher=Centre de recherches sur les espaces tropicaux de [[Bordeaux Montaigne University|l'Université Michel de Montaigney]] |isbn=2-905081-45-7 |location=Bordeaux |language=fr |trans-title=Tropical island and coastal protected areas conference proceedings |oclc=492187765}}</ref> In 2001, [[French National Centre for Scientific Research]] geographer [[Christian Jost (geographer)|Christian Jost]] extended the 1997 studies through the French Passion 2001 expedition, which focused on the evolution of Clipperton's [[ecosystem]].<ref name="Jost-2014">{{Cite web |last=Jost |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Jost (geographer) |date=2014 |title=Bienvenue sur l'île de La Passion ... Clipperton! |trans-title=Welcome to Passion Island ... Clipperton! |url=http://clipperton.fr/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112160113/http://clipperton.fr/ |archive-date=12 January 2018 |access-date=11 January 2018 |language=fr}}</ref> In 2003, cinematographer Lance Milbrand stayed on the island for 41&nbsp;days, recording the adventure for the ''[[National Geographic Explorer]]'' and plotting a [[GPS]] map of Clipperton for the [[National Geographic Society]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Milbrand |first=Lance |title=Lance Milbrand: Special Projects |url=http://www.milbrandcinema.com/special-projects/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514132844/http://www.milbrandcinema.com/ |archive-date=14 May 2012 |access-date=17 June 2012 |website=Milbrand Cinema}}</ref>

In 2005, a four-month scientific mission organised by [[Jean-Louis Étienne]] made a complete inventory of Clipperton's mineral, plant, and animal species; studied algae as deep as {{Convert|100|m|ft|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} below sea level; and examined the effects of pollution.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Étienne |first=Jean-Louis |author-link=Jean-Louis Étienne |date=2005 |title=Expédition Clipperton |url=http://www.JeanLouisEtienne.com/clipperton/default.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512085648/http://www.jeanlouisetienne.com/clipperton/default.cfm |archive-date=12 May 2008 |access-date=23 May 2005 |website=JeanLouisEtienne.com |publisher=[[Jean-Louis Étienne]] |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=de la Ronciere |first=Bertrand |title=Les Oceans Français en 36 Interviews |date=2008 |publisher=Editions l'Harmattan |isbn=978-2-296-21555-9 |language=fr |trans-title=The French Oceans in 36 Interviews |oclc=1373650260}}</ref> A 2008 expedition from the [[University of Washington]]'s School of Oceanography collected sediment cores from the lagoon to study climate change over the past millennium.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Dan |last2=Sachs |first2=Julian |date=2 April 2008 |title=Clipperton Atoll Expedition – 2008 |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/jsachs/lab/www/Research/Clipperton_2008/Clipperton_2008.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007020921/http://faculty.washington.edu/jsachs/lab/www/Research/Clipperton_2008/Clipperton_2008.html |archive-date=7 October 2012 |access-date=17 June 2012 |website=Faculty.Washington.edu |publisher=School of Oceanography, [[University of Washington]]}}</ref>

===Lagoon===
[[File:2022-04-20-00 00 2022-04-20-23 59 Sentinel-2 L2A True color.jpg|thumb|Clipperton Island photographed by the [[Sentinel-2]] satellite.|left|alt=A small ring island surrounded by the ocean]]Clipperton is a ring-shaped [[atoll]] that completely encloses a [[Water stagnation|stagnant]] [[fresh water]] lagoon and measures {{Convert|12|km|mi|lk=on|abbr=on}} in circumference and {{convert|720|ha|sqmi}} in area.<ref>{{cite archive |first=Edward |last=Belcher |item = Letter from Capt. E. Belcher (Oahu) to F. Beaufort|item-url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1064184619 |type=Textual record |item-id=1064184619 |date=10 June 1839 |file=Surveyors' Letters |box=Letters of Capt. E. Belcher|collection=Records of the Hydrographic Department of Great Britain relating to surveys in the Pacific and Indian Oceans (as filmed by the AJCP), 1779–1946  |collection-url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-771782615/findingaid?digitised=y |institution=National Library of Australia |location =Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia}}</ref>{{sfnp|Jost|2003}} The island is the only coral island in the eastern Pacific.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shor |first=Elizabeth Noble |title=Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Probing the Oceans, 1936 to 1976 |date=1978 |publisher=Tofua Press |isbn=0-914488-17-1 |location=San Diego, California |oclc=4145154 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Maragos |first1=James E. |title=Pacific Coral Reefs: An Introduction |date=2011 |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_122 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs |pages=753–776 |editor-last=Hopley |editor-first=David |access-date=2023-04-01 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands|doi=10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_122 |isbn=978-90-481-2638-5 |last2=Williams |first2=Gareth J.|series=Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The lagoon is devoid of fish, and is shallow over large parts except for some deep basins with depths of {{Convert|43|-|72|m|ft|lk=on|abbr=on}},<ref name="Carricart-Ganivet-1999" /> including a spot known as {{lang|fr|Trou Sans Fond|italic=no}} ('the bottomless hole') with [[acid]]ic water at its base.<ref name="Charpy-2010b" /> The water is described as being almost fresh at the surface and highly [[Eutrophication|eutrophic]]. Seaweed beds cover approximately 45% of the lagoon's surface. The rim averages {{Convert|150|m|ft|lk=on|abbr=on}} in width, reaching {{Convert|400|m|ft|lk=on|abbr=on}} in the west, and narrowing to {{Convert|45|m|ft|lk=on|abbr=on}} in the north-east, where sea waves occasionally spill over into the lagoon.<ref name="Terrestrial Ecoregions"/> Ten [[islets]] are present in the lagoon, six of which are covered with vegetation, including the Egg Islands ({{lang|fr|les îles aux Œufs}}).{{sfnp|Jost|Friedlander|Ballesteros|Brown|2016|pp=12, 18}}

The closure of the lagoon approximately 170 years ago and prevention of seawater from entering the lagoon has formed a [[meromictic lake]].<ref name="Charpy-2010b">{{Citation |last1=Charpy |first1=Loïc |chapter=Clipperton, a Meromictic Lagoon |date=2010 |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-90-481-8630-3_62 |title=Global Change: Mankind-Marine Environment Interactions |pages=351–356 |editor-last=Ceccaldi |editor-first=Hubert-Jean |access-date=2023-03-31 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands|doi=10.1007/978-90-481-8630-3_62 |isbn=978-90-481-8629-7 |last2=Rodier |first2=M. |last3=Sarazin |first3=G. |editor2-last=Dekeyser |editor2-first=Ivan |editor3-last=Girault |editor3-first=Mathias |editor4-last=Stora |editor4-first=Georges |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410154023/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-90-481-8630-3_62 |url-status=live |chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Charpy-2010a">{{Cite journal |last1=Charpy |first1=L. |last2=Rodier |first2=M. |last3=Couté |first3=A. |last4=Perrette-Gallet |first4=C. |last5=Bley-Loëz |first5=C. |date=2010 |title=Clipperton, a possible future for atoll lagoons |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00338-010-0627-0 |journal=[[Coral Reefs]]|volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=771–783 |doi=10.1007/s00338-010-0627-0 |bibcode=2010CorRe..29..771C |s2cid=44581800 |issn=0722-4028 |access-date=31 March 2023 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410154017/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-010-0627-0 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Galand-2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Galand |first1=Pierre E. |last2=Bourrain |first2=Muriel |last3=De Maistre |first3=Emmanuel |last4=Catala |first4=Philippe |last5=Desdevises |first5=Yves |last6=Elifantz |first6=Hila |last7=Kirchman |first7=David L. |last8=Lebaron |first8=Philippe |date=2012 |title=Phylogenetic and functional diversity of Bacteria and Archaea in a unique stratified lagoon, the Clipperton atoll (N Pacific) |journal=[[FEMS Microbiology Ecology]]|volume=79 |issue=1 |pages=203–217 |doi=10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01209.x |pmid=22029483 |bibcode=2012FEMME..79..203G |s2cid=954409 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The bottom of the shallow parts of the lake contain eroded [[coral heads]]<ref name="Snodgrass-1902">{{Cite journal|last1=Snodgrass|first1=R. E.|name-list-style=amp|last2=Heller|first2=E.|date=30 September 1902|title=The birds of Clipperton and Cocos Islands|journal=Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044107162570;view=1up;seq=3|volume=IV|pages=501–520|series=Papers from the Hopkins Stanford Galápagos expedition 1898–1899|access-date=2023-04-12 |archive-date=30 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530222447/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044107162570&view=1up&seq=3|url-status=live}}</ref> from when the lagoon was last connected with the ocean.<ref name="Carricart-Ganivet-1999" /> During visits in 1897 and 1898 the depth at the middle of the lagoon was recorded as being between two inches and two feet due to the dead coral.<ref name="Snodgrass-1902" /> The surface of the lagoon has a high concentration of phytoplankton that vary slightly with the seasons.<ref>{{Citation |last=NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group |title=VIIRS-SNPP Level 2 Ocean Color Data Version R2018.0 |journal=NASA Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center (Daac) Data Set |date=2017 |page=2018 |url=https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/10.5067/NPP/VIIRS/L2/OC/2018 |access-date=2023-04-03 |publisher=NASA Ocean Biology DAAC |doi=10.5067/npp/viirs/l2/oc/2018 |bibcode=2017ob...data..638N |archive-date=17 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017002548/https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/10.5067/NPP/VIIRS/L2/OC/2018/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result of this the water columns are stratified and do not mix leaving the lagoon with an [[oxic]] and brackish upper water layer and a deep sulphuric anoxic saline layer.<ref name="Galand-2012" />{{sfnp|Fluckey|2012|p=17}}<ref name="Fluckey-2004">{{cite interview |last=Fluckey |first=Owen |interviewer-last1=Misenhimer |interviewer-first1=Richard |interviewer-last2=Van Meter |interviewer-first2=Peg |title=Interview with Owen Fluckey |work=[[National Museum of the Pacific War]] |date=21 August 2004 |location=Fredericksburg, Texas |url=https://digitalarchive.pacificwarmuseum.org/digital/collection/p16769coll1/id/2880/rec/1 |access-date=2023-04-01 |page=4 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401060530/https://digitalarchive.pacificwarmuseum.org/digital/collection/p16769coll1/id/2880/rec/1 |url-status=live }}</ref> At a depth of approximately {{Convert|15|m|ft|lk=on|abbr=on}} the water shifts with [[salinity]] rising and both [[pH]] and oxygen quickly decreasing.<ref name="Galand-2012" /> The deepest levels of the lagoon record waters enriched with hydrogen sulfide which prevent the growth of coral. Before the lagoon was closed off to seawater, coral and clams were able to survive in the area as evident by fossilised specimens.<ref name="Carricart-Ganivet-1999">{{Cite journal |last1=Carricart-Ganivet |first1=Juan P. |last2=Reyes-Bonilla |first2=Hector |date=1999 |title=New and Previous Records of Scleractinian Corals from Clipperton Atoll, Eastern Pacific |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10125/710 |journal=[[Pacific Science]]|volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=370–375 |hdl=10125/710 |issn=0030-8870 |access-date=2 April 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fergusson |first1=G. J. |last2=Libby |first2=W. F. |date=1962 |title=UCLA Radiocarbon Dates I |journal=[[Radiocarbon (journal)|Radiocarbon]]|volume=4 |pages=109–114 |doi=10.1017/S0033822200036572 |bibcode=1962Radcb...4..109F |s2cid=251136625 |issn=0033-8222 |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{rp|112}}

Studies of the water have found that microbial communities on the water's surface are similar to other water samples from around the world with deeper water samples showing a great diversity of both bacteria and [[archaea]].<ref name="Galand-2012" /> In 2005, a group of French scientists discovered three [[dinoflagellate]] microalgae species in the lagoon: ''Peridiniopsis cristata'', which was abundant; ''[[Durinskia|Durinskia baltica]]'', which was known to exist previously in other locations, but was new to Clipperton; and ''Peridiniopsis cristata'' var. ''tubulifera'', which is unique to the island.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Couté |first1=Alain |last2=Perrette |first2=Catherine |last3=Chomérat |first3=Nicolas |date=2012-02-01 |title=Three Dinophyceae from Clipperton Island lagoon (eastern Pacific Ocean), including a description of Peridiniopsis cristata var. tubulifera var. nov. |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/bot-2011-121/html |journal= Botanica Marina|volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=59–71 |doi=10.1515/bot-2011-121 |bibcode=2012BoMar..55...59C |s2cid=84994803 |issn=1437-4323 |access-date=31 March 2023 |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331051137/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/bot-2011-121/html |url-status=live }}</ref> The lagoon also harbours millions of [[isopod]]s, which are reported to deliver a painful bite.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goode|first=Michael|url=http://www.qsl.net/clipperton2000/previous/n9ns-1992.html|title=1992 Clipperton Island expedition|website=QSL.net|publisher=2000 DXpedition to Clipperton Island|access-date=17 June 2012|archive-date=26 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726034655/http://www.qsl.net/clipperton2000/previous/n9ns-1992.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

While some sources have rated the lagoon water as non-[[drinking water|potable]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Milbrand|first=Lance|date=29 August 2003|title=Clipperton Journal: The daily record of life on a Pacific atoll|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0828_030829_milbrandjournal1.html|website=News.NationalGeographic.com|publisher=National Geographic News|access-date=27 April 2022|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112042936/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0828_030829_milbrandjournal1.html}}</ref> testimony from the crew of the tuna clipper M/V ''Monarch,'' stranded for 23&nbsp;days in 1962 after their boat sank, indicates otherwise. Their report reveals that the lagoon water, while "muddy and dirty", was drinkable, despite not tasting very good. Several of the castaways drank it, with no apparent ill effects.<ref name="National Academy of Sciences-1962">{{Cite report|url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/33685/Atoll_no94.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title=Atoll Research Bulletin |volume=94|publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences]]|location=Washington, D.C.|date=15 December 1962|pages=8–10|access-date=3 December 2021|archive-date=3 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203001530/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/33685/Atoll_no94.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|url-status=live}}</ref> Survivors of a Mexican military colony in 1917 (see below) indicated that they were dependent upon rain for their water supply, catching it in old boats.<ref name="National Academy of Sciences-1962"/> American servicemen on the island during World War II had to use evaporators to desalinate the lagoon's water.<ref name="Fluckey-2012" /> Aside from the lagoon and water caught from rain, no freshwater sources are known to exist.<ref name="Charpy-2010a" /><ref name="Galand-2012" />

=== Climate ===
The island has a tropical oceanic climate, with average temperatures of {{Convert|20|–|32|C|F|lk=on|abbr=on}} and highs up to {{Convert|37.8|C|F|lk=on|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Sachet-1962">{{Cite journal |last=Sachet |first=Marie-Hélène |author-link=Marie-Hélène Sachet |date=1962a |title=Geography and land ecology of Clipperton Island |journal=Atoll Research Bulletin |volume=86 |pages=1–115 |doi=10.5479/si.00775630.86.1 |issn=0077-5630 }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |people=Mitchell, Beverly Marecheau (director), Arnaldo-Guizar, Chico (director), Ling, Lisa (host), Milbrand, Lance (reporter) |date=2004 |title=National Geographic Ultimate Explorer: Island Castaway |type=Television production|url=https://search.alexanderstreet.com/preview/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cvideo_work%7C2086884 |access-date=2023-04-14 |time= |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Geographic |via=Alexander Street}}</ref> Annual rainfall is {{convert|3000|to|5000|mm|in}}, and the humidity level is generally between 85&nbsp;per&nbsp;cent and 95&nbsp;per&nbsp;cent with December to March being the drier months. The prevailing winds are the southeast [[trade winds]].<ref name="Jost-2014"/><ref name="Tchékémian-2021"/> The rainy season occurs from May to October,<ref name="Sachet-1962" /> and the region is subject to tropical cyclones from April to September, but such storms often pass to the northeast of Clipperton.<ref name="Jost-2014"/> In 1997 Clipperton was in the path of the start of [[Hurricane Felicia (1997)|Hurricane Felicia]], as well as [[Hurricane Sandra (2015)|Hurricane Sandra]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite AV media |people= |date=November 25, 2015 |title=Action News at 12:30 PM |type=Television news production|url=https://archive.org/details/WPVI_20151125_173000_Action_News_at_1230_PM/start/1200/end/1260 |access-date=2023-04-15 |time=20:00 |publisher=ABC News (WPVI)}}</ref> In addition, Clipperton has been subjected to multiple tropical storms and depressions, including [[Tropical Storm Andres (2003)|Tropical Storm Andres]] in 2003.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Irwin |first1=Rossman P. |last2=Davis |first2=Robert E. |date=1999-08-01 |title=The relationship between the Southern Oscillation Index and tropical cyclone tracks in the eastern North Pacific |journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]]|volume=26 |issue=15 |pages=2251–2254 |doi=10.1029/1999GL900533|bibcode=1999GeoRL..26.2251I |s2cid=140602960 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Deangelis |first=Richard |date=1972 |title=Stalking the Wild Hurricane |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00431672.1972.9931595 |journal=Weatherwise|volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=156–161 |doi=10.1080/00431672.1972.9931595 |bibcode=1972Weawi..25d.156D |issn=0043-1672 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401235428/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00431672.1972.9931595 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>  Surrounding ocean waters are warm, pushed by equatorial and counter-equatorial currents and have seen temperature increases due to global warming.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Henry C. |last2=Moreau |first2=Mélanie |last3=Linsley |first3=Braddock K. |last4=Schrag |first4=Daniel P. |last5=Corrège |first5=Thierry |date=2014 |title=Investigation of sea surface temperature changes from replicated coral Sr/Ca variations in the eastern equatorial Pacific (Clipperton Atoll) since 1874 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018214003940 |journal=[[Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]]|volume=412 |pages=208–222 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.07.039 |bibcode=2014PPP...412..208W |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028045512/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018214003940 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Linsley |first1=Braddock K. |last2=Ren |first2=Lei |last3=Dunbar |first3=Robert B. |last4=Howe |first4=Stephen S. |date=2000 |title=El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and decadal-scale climate variability at 10°N in the eastern Pacific from 1893 to 1994: A coral-based reconstruction from Clipperton Atoll |journal=[[Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology|Paleoceanography]]|volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=322–335 |doi=10.1029/1999PA000428|bibcode=2000PalOc..15..322L |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Linsley |first1=B. K. |last2=Messier |first2=R. G. |last3=Dunbar |first3=R. B. |date=1999-04-22 |title=Assessing between-colony oxygen isotope variability in the coral Porites lobata at Clipperton Atoll |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s003380050148 |journal=Coral Reefs |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=13–27 |doi=10.1007/s003380050148 |bibcode=1999CorRe..18...13L |s2cid=32697159 |issn=0722-4028|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Flora and fauna===
{{see also|List of endemic species of Clipperton Island}}
[[File:Jielbeaumadier crabe de clipperton mjp paris 2014.jpeg|left|thumb|A bright-orange [[Johngarthia oceanica|Clipperton crab]] (''Johngarthia oceanica'')|alt=A red crab hidden in rock a crevice]]
When Snodgrass and Heller visited in 1898, they reported that "no land plant is native to the island".{{sfnp|Snodgrass|Heller|1902}} Historical accounts from 1711, 1825, and 1839 show a low grassy or suffrutescent (partially woody) flora. During [[Marie-Hélène Sachet]]{{'s}} visit in 1958, the vegetation was found to consist of a sparse cover of spiny grass and low thickets, a creeping plant (''[[Ipomoea]] spp.''), and stands of coconut palm. This low-lying herbaceous flora seems to be a pioneer in nature, and most of it is believed to be composed of recently introduced species. Sachet suspected that ''[[Heliotropium curassavicum]]'', and possibly ''[[Portulaca oleracea]]'', were native. [[Coconut]] palms and [[pig]]s introduced in the 1890s by [[guano]] miners were still present in the 1940s.{{sfnp|Fluckey|2012|p=17}} The largest coconut grove is Bougainville Wood ({{lang|fr|Bois de Bougainville}}) on the southwestern end of the island.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jost |first1=Christian H. |author-link=Christian Jost (geographer) |last2=Andréfouët |first2=Serge |date=2006 |title=Long-term natural and human perturbations and current status of Clipperton Atoll, a remote island of the Eastern Pacific |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=PC060207 |journal=Pacific Conservation Biology|volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=207–218 |doi=10.1071/PC060207 |bibcode=2006PacSB..12..207H |issn=1038-2097 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> On the northwest side of the atoll, the most abundant plant species are ''[[Cenchrus echinatus]]'', ''[[Sida rhombifolia]]'', and ''[[Corchorus]] aestuans''. These plants compose a shrub cover up to {{Convert|30|cm|lk=on|abbr=on}} in height, and are intermixed with ''[[Eclipta (plant)|Eclipta]]'', ''[[Phyllanthus]]'', and ''[[Solanum]]'', as well as the taller ''[[Brassica juncea]]''. The islets in the lagoon are primarily vegetated with [[Cyperaceae]], [[Scrophulariaceae]], and ''[[Ipomoea pes-caprae]]''.{{sfnp|Jost|Friedlander|Ballesteros|Brown|2016|p=12}} A unique feature of Clipperton is that the vegetation is arranged in parallel rows of species, with dense rows of taller species alternating with lower, more open vegetation. This was assumed to be a result of the trench-digging method of [[phosphate]] mining used by guano hunters.<ref name="Terrestrial Ecoregions"/>

The only land animals known to exist are two species of reptiles (the [[Gehyra insulensis|Pacific stump-toed gecko]] and the [[Emoia cyanura|copper-tailed skink]]),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ineich |first1=Ivan |last2=Zug |first2=George R. |date=1991-12-13 |title=Nomenclatural Status of Emoia cyanura (Lacertilia, Scincidae) Populations in the Central Pacific |journal=Copeia |volume=1991 |issue=4 |page=1132 |doi=10.2307/1446114|jstor=1446114 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Zug|first=George R.|year=2013|title=Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands: A Comprehensive Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jpts77fVJ94C&pg=PP45|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=978-0-520-95540-0|page=45}}</ref> bright-orange land crabs known as [[Johngarthia oceanica|Clipperton crabs]] (''Johngarthia oceanica'', prior to 2019 classified as ''[[Johngarthia planata|Johngartia planata]]''),<ref>{{Cite WoRMS|last=Davie|first=P.|year=2015|title=''Johngarthia planata'' (Stimpson, 1860)|id=444454|access-date=22 February 2017|db=DecaNet}}</ref><ref>{{Cite WoRMS|last=Perger|first=R.|year=2019|title=''Johngarthia oceanica'' (Perger, 2019)|id=1344370|access-date=2023-06-01|db=DecaNet}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sanvicente-Añorve |first1=Laura |last2=Lemus-Santana |first2=Elia |last3=Solìs-Weiss |first3=Vivianne |date=2016 |title=Body Growth Pattern of an Isolated Land Crab Species (''Johngarthia planata'') (Decapoda, Gercarcinidae) From the Eastern Tropical Pacific: an Ecological Approach |journal=Crustaceana |volume=89 |issue=13 |pages=1525–1539 |doi=10.1163/15685403-00003602 |jstor=44250144 |bibcode=2016Crust..89.1525S |issn=0011-216X }}</ref> birds, and [[black rats|ship rats]]. The rats probably arrived when large fishing boats wrecked on the island in 1999 and 2000.<ref name="Pitman-2005"/>

The pigs introduced in the 1890s reduced the crab population, which in turn allowed [[grassland]] to gradually cover about 80&nbsp;per&nbsp;cent of the land surface.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sachet |first= Marie-Hélène |author-link=Marie-Hélène Sachet |date=7 March 1962b |title=Flora and vegetation of Clipperton Island |url=https://archive.org/details/biostor-78159/page/n37/mode/2up |journal=[[Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences]] |series=4th |volume=31 |issue=10 |pages=249–307 |publisher=[[California Academy of Sciences]] |location=[[San Francisco]], California |access-date=12 January 2018 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=McNeill |first=J.R. |chapter=Of Rats and Men: A Synoptic Environmental History of the Island Pacific* |date=2022-02-02 |title=Environmental History in the Pacific World |pages=69–119 |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315256313/chapters/10.4324/9781315256313-3 |access-date=2024-09-23 |edition=1 |place=London |publisher=Routledge |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315256313-3 |isbn=978-1-315-25631-3|chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref> The elimination of these pigs in 1958, the result of a personal project by [[Kenneth E. Stager]],<ref name="McLellan-2014" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Demelash |first=Mebea |date=2024-05-09 |title=Remembering Kenneth E. Stager: A legacy of passion and inspiration |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/471237/remembering-kenneth-e-stager-legacy-passion-and-inspiration |access-date=2024-09-22 |work=Defense Visual Information Distribution Service |publisher=United States Department of Defense}}</ref> caused most of this vegetation to disappear as the population of land crabs recovered.<ref name="Pitman-2005">{{Cite journal|last1=Pitman|first1=Robert L.|last2=Ballance|first2=Lisa T.|last3=Bost|first3=Charly|year=2005|title=Clipperton Island: Pigsty, Rat Hole, and Booby Prize|journal=[[Marine Ornithology]]|volume=33|issue=2|pages=193–194|doi=10.5038/2074-1235.33.2.667 |citeseerx=10.1.1.600.7376|url=http://www.clipperton.fr/downloads/ArtPitman2006.pdf|access-date=2023-06-21|archive-date=17 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617175740/http://www.clipperton.fr/downloads/ArtPitman2006.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, Clipperton is mostly a sandy desert with only 674&nbsp;palms counted by [[Christian Jost (geographer)|Christian Jost]] during the Passion 2001 French mission and five islets in the lagoon with grass that the terrestrial crabs cannot reach. A 2005 report by the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]{{'s}} Southwest Fisheries Science Center indicated that after the introduction of rats and their increased presence has led to a decline in both crab and bird populations, causing a corresponding increase in both vegetation and coconut palms. This report urgently recommended eradication of rats, which have been destroying bird nesting sites and the crab population,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Harper |first1=Grant A. |last2=Bunbury |first2=Nancy |date=2015 |title=Invasive rats on tropical islands: Their population biology and impacts on native species |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |language=en |volume=3 |pages=607–627 |doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2015.02.010|doi-access=free |bibcode=2015GEcoC...3..607H }}</ref><ref name="Jost-2016" /> so that vegetation might be reduced, and the island might return to its 'pre-human' state.<ref name="Pitman-2005" />

In 1825, [[Benjamin Morrell]] reported finding green sea turtles nesting on Clipperton, but later expeditions have not found nesting turtles there, possibly due to disruption from guano extraction, as well as the introduction of pigs and rats. Sea turtles found on the island appear to have been injured due to fishing practices.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lorvelec |first1=Olivier |last2=Pascal |first2=Michel |last3=Fretey |first3=Jacques |date=2009 |title=Sea turtles on Clipperton Island (Eastern Tropical Pacific) |url=http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn124/mtn124p10.shtml |journal=Marine Turtle Newsletter |volume=10 |issue=13 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401014540/http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn124/mtn124p10.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Morrell also reported fur and elephant seals on the island in 1825, but they too have not been recorded by later expeditions.{{sfnp|Lorvelec|Pascal|Fretey|2009}}<ref name="Morrell-1841" />
[[File:Enchelynassa canina head.jpg|thumb|The head of a [[Enchelynassa canina|viper moray]] (''Enchelynassa canina'')|alt=A red eel underwater]]
Birds are common on the island; Morrell noted in 1825: "The whole island is literally covered with sea-birds, such as gulls, whale-birds, gannets, and the booby".<ref name="Morrell-1841" /> Thirteen species of birds are known to breed on the island and 26 others have been observed as visitors.<ref name="Jost-2016">{{cite report |first1=Christian H. |last1=Jost |author-link1=Christian Jost (geographer) |first2=Alan |last2=Friedlander |first3=Enric |last3=Ballesteros |first4=Eric |last4=Brown |first5=Jenn |last5=Caselle |first6=Brad |last6=Henning |first7=Mauricio |last7=Hoyos |first8=Pelayo |last8=Salinas de León |first9=Paul |last9=Rose |first10=Chris |last10=Thompson |first11=Enric |last11=Sala |language=fr |title=L'Atoll de Clipperton (Île de la Passion): Biodiversité, Menaces, et Recommandations pour sa Conservation. Rapport au Gouvernement de la France. Août 2016. |trans-title=Clipperton Atol (Île de la Passion): Biodiversity, Threats, and Recommendations for its Convservation. Report to the French Government. August 2016. |year=2016 |publisher=CRIOBE |location=Papetō{{'eta}}ai, Mo{{'eta}}orea, French Polynesia |page=10 |url=https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/PristineSeasClippertonScientificReport.pdf |access-date=2023-04-10 |archive-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726053930/https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/PristineSeasClippertonScientificReport.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The island has been identified as an [[Important Bird Area]] by [[BirdLife International]] because of the large breeding colony of masked boobies, with 110,000&nbsp;individual birds recorded.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/clipperton-iba-french-polynesia/details|title=Important Bird Areas factsheet: Clipperton|website=Datazone.BirdLife.org|publisher=[[BirdLife International]]|year=2018|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112100916/http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/clipperton-iba-french-polynesia/details|url-status=live}}</ref> Observed bird species include [[white tern]]s, [[Masked booby|masked boobies]], [[sooty tern]]s, [[Cocos booby|Cocos boobies]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=VanderWerf |first=Eric A. |date=2025-08-01 |title=Identification and Distribution of the Brown and Cocos Boobies and Their Subspecies |url=https://westernfieldornithologists.org/publications/journal/journal-volume-56-3/identification_and_distribution_of_brown_and_cocos_boobies_and_subspecies/ |journal=Western Birds |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=176–199 |doi=10.21199/WB56.3.2}}</ref> [[Brown noddy|brown noddies]], [[Black noddy|black noddies]], [[Greater frigatebird|great frigatebirds]], [[coot]]s, [[Swallow|martins]] (swallows), [[cuckoo]]s, and [[yellow warbler]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bustamante |first1=Paco |last2=Le Verge |first2=Thibault |last3=Bost |first3=Charles-André |last4=Brault-Favrou |first4=Maud |last5=Le Corre |first5=Matthieu |last6=Weimerskirch |first6=Henri |last7=Cherel |first7=Yves |date=2023-10-24 |title=Mercury contamination in the tropical seabird community from Clipperton Island, eastern Pacific Ocean |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10646-023-02691-2 |journal=Ecotoxicology|volume=32 |issue=8 |pages=1050–1061 |doi=10.1007/s10646-023-02691-2 |pmid=37615819 |bibcode=2023Ecotx..32.1050B |s2cid=261098767 |issn=0963-9292}}</ref><ref name="Stager-1964">{{Cite journal |last=Stager |first=Kenneth E. |date=1964 |title=The Birds of Clipperton Island, Eastern Pacific |url=https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/66/5/357-371/5229076 |journal=[[The Condor (journal)|The Condor]] |volume=66 |issue=5 |pages=357–371 |doi=10.2307/1365428 |jstor=1365428 |issn=1938-5129 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410154039/https://academic.oup.com/condor/article-abstract/66/5/357/5229076?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ehrhardt-1971">{{Cite journal |last=Ehrhardt |first=Jean P. |date=December 1971 |title=Census of the Birds of Clipperton Island, 1968 |url=https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/73/4/476-480/5202677 |journal=[[The Condor (journal)|The Condor]] |volume=73 |issue=4 |pages=476–480 |doi=10.2307/1366675 |jstor=1366675 |issn=1938-5129|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Ducks and moorhens have been reported in the lagoon.<ref name="Terrestrial Ecoregions"/>

The coral reef on the north side of the island includes colonies more than {{convert|2|m|ft|}} high. The 2018 Tara Pacific expedition located five colonies of ''[[Millepora platyphylla]]'' at depths of {{convert|28|–|32|m|ft}}, the first of this fire coral species known in the region.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rouan |first1=Alice |last2=Pousse |first2=Melanie |last3=Djerbi |first3=Nadir |last4=Porro |first4=Barbara |last5=Bourdin |first5=Guillaume |last6=Carradec |first6=Quentin |last7=Hume |first7=Benjamin CC. |last8=Poulain |first8=Julie |last9=Lê-Hoang |first9=Julie |last10=Armstrong |first10=Eric |last11=Agostini |first11=Sylvain |last12=Salazar |first12=Guillem |last13=Ruscheweyh |first13=Hans-Joachim |last14=Aury |first14=Jean-Marc |last15=Paz-García |first15=David A. |date=2023-06-01 |title=Telomere DNA length regulation is influenced by seasonal temperature differences in short-lived but not in long-lived reef-building corals |journal=Nature Communications|volume=14 |issue=1 |page=3038 |doi=10.1038/s41467-023-38499-1 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=10235076 |pmid=37263999|bibcode=2023NatCo..14.3038R }}</ref> Among the ''[[Porites]] spp.'' stony corals, some [[coral bleaching|bleaching]] was observed, along with other indications of disease or stress, including parasitic worms and microalgae.<ref name="Clua-2018">{{Cite report |url=http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.2.20403.89127 |title=Mission Tara Pacific sur l'atoll de Clipperton (île de La Passion – France) du 06 au 13 août 2018. Rapport de mission |trans-title=Tara Pacific Mission on Clipperton Atoll (île de La Passion – France) 6–13 August 2018. Mission report. |first1=Eric |last1=Clua |first2=François |last2=Aurat |first3=Nicolas |last3=Bin |first4=Sophie |last4=Bin |first5=Emilie |last5=Boissin |first6=Yann |last6=Chavance |first7=Daniel |last7=Cron |first8=Amanda |last8=Eleneau |first9=Martin |last9=Hertau |first10=Jonathan |last10=Lancelot |first11=Jean-Marc |last11=Moro |first12=Clémentine |last12=Moulin |first13=Alexis |last13=Pey |first14=Claudia |last14=Pogoreutz |first15=Thibaut |last15=Pollina |first16=Romain |last16=Troublé |first17=Serge |last17=Planes |date=2018 |doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.20403.89127 |language=fr |docket=CRIOBE USR3278. RA272 |publisher=Tara Exhibitions Foundation |pages=52–53}}</ref>

The reefs that surround Clipperton have some of the highest concentration of [[Endemism|endemic species]] found anywhere with more than 115 species identified.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Gerald R. |date=2008 |title=Conservation hotspots of biodiversity and endemism for Indo-Pacific coral reef fishes |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.880 |journal=Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems|volume=18 |issue=5 |pages=541–556 |doi=10.1002/aqc.880 |bibcode=2008ACMFE..18..541A |issn=1052-7613 |access-date=31 March 2023 |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331054821/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.880 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crane |first1=Nicole L. |last2=Tariel |first2=Juliette |last3=Caselle |first3=Jennifer E. |last4=Friedlander |first4=Alan M. |last5=Robertson |first5=D. Ross |last6=Bernardi |first6=Giacomo |date=2018-06-27 |editor-last=Patterson |editor-first=Heather M. |title=Clipperton Atoll as a model to study small marine populations: Endemism and the genomic consequences of small population size |journal=PLOS ONE|volume=13 |issue=6 |article-number=e0198901 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0198901 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6021044 |pmid=29949612 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1398901C |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{sfnp|Allen|Robertson|1997}} Many species are recorded in the area, including five or six endemics, such as [[Clipperton angelfish]] (''Holacanthus limbaughi''), Clipperton grouper (''[[Epinephelus]] clippertonensis''), Clipperton damselfish (''[[Stegastes baldwini]]'') and Robertson's wrasse (''[[Thalassoma robertsoni]]''). Widespread species around the reefs include [[Paranthias colonus|Pacific creolefish]], [[Blue and gold snapper|blue-and-gold snapper]], and various species of [[Mulloidichthys|goatfish]]. In the water column, [[Caranx|trevallies]] are predominant, including [[Caranx lugubris|black jacks]], [[bigeye trevally]], and [[bluefin trevally]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Béarez |first1=Philippe |title=Clipperton: environnement et biodiversité d'un microcosme océanique |last2=Séret |first2=Bernard |date=2009 |publisher=Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle IRD éd |isbn=978-2-85653-612-4 |editor-last=Charpy |editor-first=Loïc |series=Patrimoines naturels |location=Paris Marseille |language=French |trans-title=Clipperton: environment and biodiversity of an oceanic microcosm |chapter=Les poissons}}</ref> Also common around Clipperton are [[black triggerfish]];, several species of [[grouper]]s, including [[Dermatolepis dermatolepis|leather bass]] and [[Epinephelus labriformis|starry groupers]]; [[Mexican hogfish]]; [[Whitecheek surgeonfish|whitecheek]], [[Acanthurus triostegus|convict]], and [[Ctenochaetus marginatus|striped-fin surgeonfish]]; [[yellow longnose butterflyfish|yellow longnose]] and [[Johnrandallia|blacknosed butterflyfish]]; [[coral hawkfish]]; [[Arothron meleagris|golden pufferfish]]; [[Moorish idol]]s; [[parrotfish]]; and moray eels, especially [[speckled moray eel]]s.{{sfnp|Clua|Aurat|Bin|Bin|2018|pp=54–57}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=Gerald R. |last2=Robertson |first2=D. Ross |year=1997 |title=An annotated checklist of the fishes of Clipperton Atoll, tropical eastern Pacific |journal=Revista de Biología Tropical |issn=2215-2075 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=813–843 |url=https://tropicalstudies.org/rbt/attachments/volumes/vol45-2/08_Allen_Clipperton_Atoll.pdf |access-date=2023-04-12 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406184341/https://tropicalstudies.org/rbt/attachments/volumes/vol45-2/08_Allen_Clipperton_Atoll.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The waters around the island are an important nursery for sharks, particularly the [[Oceanic whitetip shark|white tip shark]]. [[Galapagos shark]]s,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Morales-Serrano |first1=Naití |last2=Gonzalez-Pestana |first2=Adriana |date=2024-06-05 |title=Identification of the first nursery area of the Galápagos shark (''Carcharhinus galapagensis'') in the south-east Pacific Ocean |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.15820 |journal=Journal of Fish Biology |volume=105 |issue=3 |pages=1008–1013 |language=en |doi=10.1111/jfb.15820 |pmid=38840424 |bibcode=2024JFBio.105.1008M |issn=0022-1112|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Triaenodon obesus|reef sharks]], [[whale shark]]s,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-05-01 |title=Rastrean al pez más grande del mundo |trans-title=The world's largest fish is being tracked |url=https://eldiariodesonora.com.mx/rastrean-al-pez-mas-grande-del-mundo |access-date=2024-09-03 |work=El Diario de Sonora |location=Heroica Nogales, Sonora, Mexico |language=es-MX |quote=Anne permaneció en aguas panameñas durante 116 días, luego nadó hacia la Isla Clipperton (Francia), cerca de la Isla del Coco (Costa Rica) en su ruta hacia la Isla Darwin en Galápagos (Ecuador), un sitio conocido por atraer grupos de tiburones. 266 días después de que la etiquetaron, la señal desapareció, lo que indica que Anne navegaba demasiado profunda para seguirla. Después de 235 días de silencio, las transmisiones comenzaron de nuevo, al sur de Hawai. |trans-quote=Anne stayed in Panamanian waters for 116 days, then swam to Clipperton Island (France), near Cocos Island (Costa Rica) on her way to Darwin Island in the Galapagos (Ecuador), a site known to attract groups of sharks. 266 days after she was tagged, the signal disappeared, indicating that Anne was sailing too deep to be followed. After 235 days of silence, transmissions began again, south of Hawaii.}}</ref> and [[hammerhead shark]]s are also present around Clipperton.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Melanie |last2=Coffey |first2=Daniel M. |last3=Holland |first3=Kim |last4=Itano |first4=David |last5=Leroy |first5=Bruno |last6=Kohin |first6=Suzanne |last7=Vetter |first7=Russell |last8=Williams |first8=Ashley J. |last9=Wren |first9=Johanna |date=2019 |title=Movements and habitat use of juvenile silky sharks in the Pacific Ocean inform conservation strategies |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0165783618302856 |journal=Fisheries Research|volume=210 |pages=131–142 |doi=10.1016/j.fishres.2018.10.016 |bibcode=2019FishR.210..131H |s2cid=92285864 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=2 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802094517/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0165783618302856 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{sfnp|Clua|Aurat|Bin|Bin|2018|pp=62–63}}

Three expeditions to Clipperton have collected [[sponge]] specimens, including U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Roosevelt]]'s visit in 1938. Of the 190 specimens collected, 20 species were noted, including nine found only at Clipperton. One of the endemic sponges, collected during the 1938 visit, was named ''Callyspongia roosevelti'' in honour of Roosevelt.<ref name="Wheeler-2012" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Laubenfels |first=Max Walker |date=1939 |title=Sponges collected on the presidential cruise of 1938 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/23677/SMC_98_deLaubenfels_1939_15_1-7.pdf |journal=Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections |location=Baltimore, Maryland |volume=98 |issue=15 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401014539/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/23677/SMC_98_deLaubenfels_1939_15_1-7.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wheeler |first=Quentin |date=2012-08-11 |title=New to Nature no. 80: Callyspongia roosevelti|work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/12/new-to-nature-callyspongia-roosevelti |access-date=2023-04-07 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401014539/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/12/new-to-nature-callyspongia-roosevelti |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2009, Steven Robinson, a tropical fish dealer from [[Hayward, California]], travelled to Clipperton to collect [[Clipperton angelfish]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hayward Fish Dealer Facing Prison For Importing Rare Species |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/hayward-fish-dealer-facing-prison-for-importing-rare-species/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402042202/https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/hayward-fish-dealer-facing-prison-for-importing-rare-species/ |archive-date=2 April 2023 |access-date=2023-04-02 |publisher=CBS News |date=22 August 2011}}</ref> Upon his return to the United States, he described the 52 illegally collected fish to federal wildlife authorities as [[king angelfish]],<ref name="Kurhi-2011">{{Cite news |last=Kurhi |first=Eric |date=20 Aug 2011 |title=Fish wholesaler in hot water |volume=137 |page=7 |work=Oakland Tribune |issue=181 |location=Oakland, California |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=David |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123691649/ |access-date=2023-04-01 |quote=There's a value that's created and that's for select customers who want something ugly but rare. |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707144308/https://www.newspapers.com/article/123691649/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Environmental Crimes Section Monthly Bulletin-2012">{{Cite news |date=2012 |title=United States v. Steven Robinson, No. 11-CR-00513 (N.D. Calif.) |page=17 |work=Environmental Crimes Section Monthly Bulletin |publisher=United States Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/enrd/legacy/2015/04/13/jan_2012_508.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402042225/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/enrd/legacy/2015/04/13/jan_2012_508.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2023}}</ref> not the rarer Clipperton angelfish, which he intended to sell for $10,000.<ref name="Environmental Crimes Section Monthly Bulletin-2012" /><ref name="Friedlander-2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Friedlander |first1=Alan M. |last2=Giddens |first2=Jonatha |last3=Ballesteros |first3=Enric |last4=Blum |first4=Shmulik |last5=Brown |first5=Eric K. |last6=Caselle |first6=Jennifer E. |last7=Henning |first7=Bradley |last8=Jost |first8=Christian |last9=Salinas-de-León |first9=Pelayo |last10=Sala |first10=Enric |date=2019-07-16 |title=Marine biodiversity from zero to a thousand meters at Clipperton Atoll (Île de La Passion), Tropical Eastern Pacific |journal=[[PeerJ]]|volume=7 |article-number=e7279 |doi=10.7717/peerj.7279 |issn=2167-8359 |pmc=6640628 |pmid=31341739 |doi-access=free }}</ref> On 15 December 2011, Robinson was sentenced to 45 days of incarceration, one year of probation, and a $2,000 fine.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-12-15 |title=Hayward man sentenced for smuggling rare exotic fish |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2011/12/15/hayward-man-sentenced-for-smuggling-rare-exotic-fish/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402042223/https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2011/12/15/hayward-man-sentenced-for-smuggling-rare-exotic-fish/ |archive-date=2 April 2023 |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=East Bay Times}}</ref>

=== Environmental threats ===
[[File:Sichem Osprey.jpg|thumb|Freighter ''Sichem Osprey'' grounded on Clipperton Island in 2010|left|alt=A large tanker ship with Clipperton Island in the background]]
During the night of 10&nbsp;February 2010, the ''Sichem Osprey'',<ref>{{cite ship register|register=RINA|id=9320544|shipname=Costa Concordia|access-date=2023-04-02}}</ref> a Maltese [[chemical tanker]], ran aground en route from the [[Panama Canal]] to [[South Korea]]. The {{Convert|170|m|ft|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} ship contained {{convert|10513|MT|ST}} of [[xylene]], {{convert|6005|MT|ST}} of soybean oil, and {{convert|6000|MT|ST}} of tallow.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.bea-mer.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/RET_SICHEM_OSPREY_05-2010_Site.pdf |title=Report of safety investigation Stranding of the chemical tanker vessel Sichem Osprey on 10 February 2010 on Clipperton Island |publisher=Bureau d'enquêtes sur les événements de mer |docket= |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402062803/https://www.bea-mer.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/RET_SICHEM_OSPREY_05-2010_Site.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|43}} All 19&nbsp;crew members were reported safe, and the vessel reported no leaks.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 March 2010 |title=Re: Probe into Sichem Osprey grounding |url=http://diver.net/bbs/posts002/81342.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305082505/http://diver.net/bbs/posts002/81342.shtml |archive-date=5 March 2012 |access-date=17 June 2012 |website=Diver.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 February 2010 |title=Xylene tanker runs aground on Clipperton Island |url=http://reeftools.com/news/xylene-tanker-runs-aground-on-clipperton-island/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713160803/http://reeftools.com/news/xylene-tanker-runs-aground-on-clipperton-island/ |archive-date=13 July 2012 |access-date=17 June 2012 |website=ReefTools.com}}</ref> The vessel was re-floated on 6&nbsp;March<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 March 2010 |title=Eitzen tanker Sichem Osprey refloated |url=https://LloydsList.MaritimeIntelligence.Informa.com/LL105629/Eitzen-tanker-Sichem-Osprey-refloated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112214709/https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL105629/Eitzen-tanker-Sichem-Osprey-refloated |archive-date=12 January 2018 |access-date=17 June 2012 |website=LloydsList.MaritimeIntelligence.Informa.com |publisher=[[Lloyds List]]}}</ref> and returned to service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Easterly Osprey: Vessel Information, Ex-Name History |date=2022-02-24 |url=https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:288953/mmsi:538009895/imo:9396024/vessel:EASTERLY_OSPREY#VesselInfo |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=[[MarineTraffic]] |archive-date=12 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612203908/https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:288953/mmsi:538009895/imo:9396024/vessel:EASTERLY_OSPREY#VesselInfo |url-status=live }}</ref>

In mid-March 2012, the crew from the Clipperton Project noted the widespread presence of refuse, particularly on the northeast shore, and around the Clipperton Rock. Debris, including plastic bottles and containers, create a potentially harmful environment for the island's flora and fauna.<ref name="Tchekémian-2022" /> This trash is common to only two beaches (northeast and southwest), and the rest of the island is fairly clean. Other refuse has been left after the occupations by Americans 1944–1945, French 1966–1969, and the 2008 scientific expedition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 March 2012 |title=Plastic surveying and collection |url=http://www.ClippertonProject.com/plastic-surveying-and-collection/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502053953/http://www.clippertonproject.com/plastic-surveying-and-collection/ |archive-date=2 May 2012 |access-date=17 June 2012 |website=ClippertonProject.com |publisher=The Clipperton Project}}</ref> During a 2015 scientific and amateur radio expedition to Clipperton, the operating team discovered a package that contained {{convert|1.2|kg|lbs}} of cocaine. It is suspected that the package washed up after being discarded at sea.<ref name="Tchékémian-2021">{{Cite book |last=Tchékémian |first=Anthony |url=https://www.cairn.info/clipperton-les-restes-de-la-passion--9791095177180-p-51.htm  |title=Clipperton, les restes de La Passion: regards sur le seul atoll corallien français dans l'océan Pacifique nord-oriental |publisher=Presses universitaires des Antilles |year=2021 |isbn=979-10-95177-18-0 |location=Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe |language=fr |trans-title=Clipperton, the remains of La Passion: a look at the only French coral atoll in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean |oclc=1289359277}}</ref> In April 2023, the Passion 23 mission by France's {{ill|Armed Forces in the Antilles|fr|Forces armées aux Antilles}} and the surveillance frigate ''[[French frigate Germinal|Germinal]]'' collected more than {{convert|200|kg|lbs}} of plastic waste from the island's beaches along with a bale of cocaine.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-24 |title=Mission PASSION 23: Le Germinal pose le pied sur l'atoll de Clipperton |trans-title=Mission PASSION 23: The Germinal sets foot on Clipperton Atoll |url=https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/actualites/mission-passion-23-germinal-pose-pied-latoll-clipperton |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Ministère des armées: Marine nationale: Actualités |archive-date=29 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429012637/https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/actualites/mission-passion-23-germinal-pose-pied-latoll-clipperton |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Sea Around Us (organization)|Sea Around Us Project]] estimates the Clipperton EEZ produces a harvest of {{convert|50000|MT|ST}} of fish per year; however, because French naval patrols in the area are infrequent, this includes a significant amount of illegal fishing,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Song |first=Y.-h. |date=2010-12-01 |title=The Application of Article 121 of the Law of the Sea Convention to the Selected Geographical Features Situated in the Pacific Ocean |url=https://academic.oup.com/chinesejil/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/chinesejil/jmq031 |journal=Chinese Journal of International Law |language=en |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=663–698 |doi=10.1093/chinesejil/jmq031 |issn=1540-1650|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-06-10 |title=French minister questions Pacific fishing policies |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/184155/french-minister-questions-pacific-fishing-policies |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=[[RNZ]] |language=en-nz}}</ref> along with lobster harvesting and [[shark finning]], resulting in estimated losses for France of €0.42 per kilogram of fish caught.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pauly |first=Daniel |url=https://sau-technical-reports.s3.amazonaws.com/898_Pauly_2009_ClippertonFrance_FCRR.pdf |title=Fisheries catch reconstructions: Islands, Part I |date=2009 |publisher=Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia |editor1-last=Zeller |editor1-first=Dirk |series=Fisheries Centre Research Reports |volume=17 |pages=35–37 |chapter=The fisheries resources of the Clipperton Island EEZ (France) |issn=1198-6727 |access-date=2023-04-10 |editor2-last=Harper |editor2-first=Sarah |number=5 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410171637/https://sau-technical-reports.s3.amazonaws.com/898_Pauly_2009_ClippertonFrance_FCRR.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

As deep-sea mining of [[polymetallic nodule]]s increases in the adjacent [[Clarion–Clipperton zone]], similar mining activity within France's [[exclusive economic zone]] surrounding the atoll may have an impact on marine life around Clipperton. Polymetallic nodules were discovered in the Clipperton EEZ during the Passion 2015 expedition.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Friedlander |first1=Alan M. |last2=Giddens |first2=Jonatha |last3=Ballesteros |first3=Enric |last4=Blum |first4=Shmulik |last5=Brown |first5=Eric K. |last6=Caselle |first6=Jennifer E. |last7=Henning |first7=Bradley |last8=Jost |first8=Christian |last9=Salinas-de-León |first9=Pelayo |last10=Sala |first10=Enric |display-authors=3 |date=2019-07-16 |title=Marine Biodiversity from Zero to a Thousand Meters at Clipperton Atoll (Île de La Passion), Tropical Eastern Pacific |journal=PeerJ|volume=7 |article-number=e7279 |doi=10.7717/peerj.7279 |pmc=6640628 |pmid=31341739 |issn=2167-8359 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Politics and government ==
The island is an [[Overseas France|overseas state private property of France]] under direct authority of the [[Minister of the Overseas (France)|Minister of the Overseas]].<ref>Article 9 – {{Cite act |type=Loi |index=55-1052 |date=6 August 1955 |title=Loi n° 55-1052 du 6&nbsp;août 1955 modifiée portant statut des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises et de l'île de Clipperton |trans-title=Law No. 55-1052 of 6&nbsp;August 1955 on the status of French Southern and Antarctic Lands and Clipperton Island |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=2E14855B772D504D6D56073B3A3BFDAD.tpdjo13v_1?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000879815&categorieLien=cid&dateTexte= |language=fr |access-date=2022-04-27 |archive-date=2015-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627190857/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=2E14855B772D504D6D56073B3A3BFDAD.tpdjo13v_1?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000879815&categorieLien=cid&dateTexte= |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite act |type=Décret |index= |date=31 January 2008 |title=Décret du 31 janvier 2008 relatif à l'administration de l'île de Clipperton |trans-title=31&nbsp;January 1966 Order Respecting the Administration of Clipperton Island |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000018048991&fastPos=1&fastReqId=2007253908&categorieLien=id&oldAction=rechTexte |language=fr |access-date=2022-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704211325/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000018048991&fastPos=1&fastReqId=2007253908&categorieLien=id&oldAction=rechTexte |archive-date=2015-07-04 |url-status=live}}</ref> Although the island is French territory, it has no status within the European Union.<ref>{{Citation |last=Murray |first=Fiona |chapter=Article 227(4): European Member State Territories for Whose External Relations a Member State is Responsible |date=2012 |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-90-6704-826-2_6 |title=The European Union and Member State Territories: A New Legal Framework Under the EU Treaties |pages=37–40 |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410154007/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-90-6704-826-2_6 |url-status=live |place=The Hague, Netherlands |publisher=T. M. C. Asser Press|doi=10.1007/978-90-6704-826-2_6 |isbn=978-90-6704-825-5 |archive-date=10 April 2023|chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref> Ownership of Clipperton Island was disputed in the 19th and early 20th centuries between [[France]] and [[Mexico]], but was finally settled through [[arbitration]] in 1931; the [[Clipperton Island Case]] remains widely studied in [[international law]] textbooks.<ref name="Dickinson-1933">{{Cite journal |last=Dickinson |first=Edwin D. |date=1933 |title=The Clipperton Island Case |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0002930000135754/type/journal_article |url-status=live |journal=[[American Journal of International Law]]|volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=130–133 |doi=10.2307/2189797 |issn=0002-9300 |jstor=2189797 |s2cid=147177707 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410153940/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/abs/clipperton-island-case/AD446A982E29CC6941B99EA1259C4FB9 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |access-date=17 June 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Mark A. |date=1977 |title=Sovereignty Over Unoccupied Territories—The Western Sahara Decision |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2180&context=jil |url-status=live |journal=[[Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law]] |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=135–159 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716205856/https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2180&context=jil |archive-date=16 July 2022 |access-date=16 July 2022}}</ref>

In the late 1930s, as [[flying boat]]s opened the Pacific to air travel, Clipperton Island was noted as a possible waypoint for a trans-Pacific route from the Americas to Asia via the [[Marquesas Islands]] in French Polynesia, bypassing Hawaii. However, France indicated no interest in developing commercial air traffic in the corridor.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pacific Airways |author=D. |journal=Foreign Affairs |date=October 1939 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=62, 69 |jstor=20028976 |doi=10.2307/20028976}}</ref>

After France ratified the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]] (UNCLOS) in 1996,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rimaboschi |first=Massimiliano |url=http://books.openedition.org/puam/934 |title=L'unification du droit maritime: Contribution à la construction d'un ordre juridique maritime |date=2006 |publisher=Presses universitaires d'Aix-Marseille |isbn=978-2-7314-0561-3 |language=fr |trans-title=The unification of maritime law: Contribution to the construction of a maritime legal order |doi=10.4000/books.puam.934 |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408211122/https://books.openedition.org/puam/934 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>

{{cite act |type=Décret |index=96-774 |date=30 August 1996 |title=Décret n° 96-774 du 30 août 1996 portant publication de la Convention des Nations unies sur le droit de la mer (ensemble neuf annexes), signée à Montego Bay le 10 décembre 1982, et de l'accord relatif à l'application de la partie XI de la Convention des Nations unies sur le droit de la mer du 10 décembre 1982, fait à New York le 28 juillet 1994 |trans-title=Decree No. 96-774 of August 30, 1996 publishing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (all nine annexes), signed in Montego Bay on December 10, 1982, and the agreement relating to the application of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of December 10, 1982, done at New York on July 28, 1994 |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000378591 |language=fr |access-date=2023-04-06 |archive-date=2023-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412214026/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000378591 |url-status=live}}</ref> it reaffirmed the [[Exclusive economic zone of France|exclusive economic zone]] around Clipperton Island, which had been established in 1976.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.un.org/Depts/los/doalos_publications/LOSBulletins/bulletinpdf/bulletin74e.pdf |title=Law of the Sea |date=2011 |publisher=United Nations, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs |location=New York, New York, United States of America |pages=63–68 |docket=Bulletin No. 74 |access-date=2023-04-12}}</ref> After changes were made to the area nations were allowed to claim under the third convention of UNCLOS,<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.un.org/Depts/los/doalos_publications/LOSBulletins/bulletinpdf/LOS_99_WEB.pdf |title=Law of the Sea |date=2019 |publisher=United Nations, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs |location=New York, New York, United States of America |pages=24–25 |docket=Bulletin No. 99 |access-date=2023-04-12}}</ref> France in 2018 expanded the outer limits of the territorial sea to {{cvt|12|nmi|km|order=flip}} and the exclusive economic zone off Clipperton Island to {{cvt|200|nmi|km|order=flip}}, encompassing {{convert|431273|km2|mi2}} of ocean.<ref>{{cite act |type=Décret |index=2018–23 |date=16 January 2018 |title=Décret n° 2018–23 du 16 janvier 2018 établissant les limites extérieures de la mer territoriale et de la zone économique exclusive au large de l'île de Clipperton |trans-title=Decree No. 2018-23 of January 16, 2018 establishing the outer limits of the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone off Clipperton Island |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2018/1/16/2018-23/jo/texte |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Belgium |title=Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Maritime Boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones (200NM) |date=2019 |url=http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?dasid=6316&doiid=386 |access-date=2023-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408211122/https://www.vliz.be/en/imis?dasid=6316&doiid=386 |url-status=live |chapter=Boundaries |others=Salvador Jesús Fernández Bejarano, Britt Lonneville, Paula Oset Garcia, Lennert Schepers, Lennert Tyberghein, Bart Vanhoorne, Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Belgium |publisher=VLIZ|doi=10.14284/386 |archive-date=8 April 2023}}</ref>

On 21 February 2007, administration of Clipperton was transferred from the [[High commissioner|High Commissioner]] of the Republic in [[French Polynesia]] to the Minister of Overseas France.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=Fiona |title=The European Union and member state territories: a new legal framework under the EU treaties |date=2012 |publisher=T.M.C. Asser Press |isbn=978-90-6704-826-2 |location=The Hague |oclc=772633376 }}</ref>{{rp|99}}

In 2015, French MP [[Philippe Folliot]] set foot on Clipperton becoming the first elected official from France to do so. Folliot noted that visiting Clipperton was something he had wanted to do since he was nine years old.<ref name="Forcari" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-28 |title=Philippe Folliot, le sénateur des petits bouts de France |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/philippe-folliot-le-senateur-des-petits-bouts-de-france-20211228 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401090616/https://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/philippe-folliot-le-senateur-des-petits-bouts-de-france-20211228 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=LEFIGARO |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=FOLLIOT Philippe |url=https://www.nato-pa.int/members/folliot-philippe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401090621/https://www.nato-pa.int/members/folliot-philippe |archive-date=1 April 2023 |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly}}</ref> Following the visit, Folliot reported to the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] on the pressing need to reaffirm French sovereignty over the atoll and its surrounding maritime claims. He also proposed establishing an international scientific research station on Clipperton and administrative reforms surrounding the oversight of the atoll.<ref>{{cite report |title=Rapport No. 4219 |date=2016-11-16 |language=fr |last=Folliot |first=Philippe |publisher=Assemblée Nationale |location=Paris, France |url=https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/14/rapports/r4219.asp |access-date=2023-10-30}}</ref>

In 2022, France passed legislation officially referring to the island as "La Passion–Clipperton".<ref>{{cite act |type=Loi |index=2022-217 |date=2 February 2022 |article=263 |article-type=Article |legislature=French Assemblée nationale and Sénat |title=Relative à la différenciation, la décentralisation, la déconcentration et portant diverses mesures de simplification de l'action publique locale (1), Titre VIII : Dispositions relatives à l'Outre-Mer (Articles 239 à 268) |trans-title=Relating to differentiation, decentralization, deconcentration and on various measures to simplify local public action (1), Title VIII: Provisions relative to l'Outre-Mer |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/article_jo/JORFARTI000045197535 |language=fr |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-date=2022-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104220718/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/article_jo/JORFARTI000045197535 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Plan de l'Isle de la Passion (1711).png|thumb|left|Sketch of "l'Isle de la Passion" (Clipperton) from ''La Princesse''{{'s}} ship's diary (1711)|alt=An old map showing Clipperton Island and sea, with a compass rose indicating direction]]

===Discovery and early claims===
There are several claims to the first discovery of the island. The earliest recorded possible sighting is 24 January 1521 when Portuguese-born Spanish explorer [[Ferdinand Magellan]] discovered an island he named San Pablo after turning westward away from the American mainland during his circumnavigation of the globe.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nunn |first=George E. |date=1934 |title=Magellan's Route in the Pacific |journal=[[Geographical Review]] |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=615–633 |doi=10.2307/208851 |jstor=208851 |bibcode=1934GeoRv..24..615N }}</ref> On 15&nbsp;November 1528, [[Spaniards|Spaniard]] [[Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón]] discovered an island he called Isla Médanos in the region while on an expedition commissioned by his cousin, the Spanish conquistador [[Hernán Cortés]], to find a route to the [[Philippines]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Glynn |first=Peter W. |chapter=History of Eastern Pacific Coral Reef Research |date=2017 |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_1 |title=Coral Reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific |series=Coral Reefs of the World |volume=8 |pages=1–37 |editor-last=Glynn |editor-first=Peter W. |access-date=2023-04-02 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |doi=10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_1 |isbn=978-94-017-7498-7 |editor2-last=Manzello |editor2-first=Derek P. |editor3-last=Enochs |editor3-first=Ian C.|chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Vargas-2011">{{cite book|last=Vargas|first=Jorge A.|date=2011|title=Mexico and the Law of the Sea: Contributions and Compromises|volume=69|series=Publications on Ocean Development|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=978-90-04-20620-5|pages=470|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MuN7xR6wR-4C&q=alvaro+de+saavedra+ceron+clipperton&pg=PA470|access-date=7 September 2019|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410153936/https://books.google.com/books?id=MuN7xR6wR-4C&q=alvaro+de+saavedra+ceron+clipperton&pg=PA470|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Ione Stuessy|date=1953|title=Voyages of Alvaro de Saavedra Cerón 1527–1529|publisher=University of Miami Press|location=Coral Gables, Florida}}</ref>

Although both San Pablo and Isla Médanos are considered to be possible sightings of Clipperton, the island was first charted by French merchant [[Michel Dubocage]], commanding ''La Découverte'', who arrived at the island on [[Good Friday]], 3&nbsp;April 1711; he was joined the following day by fellow ship captain {{ill|Martin de Chassiron|fr|Mathieu Martin de Chassiron}} and ''La Princesse''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lévesque |first=Rodrigue |date=1998 |title=French ships at Guam, 1708–1717: Introduction to a little-known period in Pacific history |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00223349808572861 |journal=The Journal of Pacific History |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=105–110 |doi=10.1080/00223349808572861 |issn=0022-3344|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The island was given the name {{lang|fr|Île de la Passion}} ('Passion Island') as the date of rediscovery fell within [[Passiontide]]. They drew up the first map of the island and claimed it for France.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Map of Passion Island |url=https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/epaves-corsaires/en/media/view/10075 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=Musée d'Archéologie National |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405144557/https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/epaves-corsaires/en/media/view/10075 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 1825, American sea captain [[Benjamin Morrell]] made the first recorded landing on Clipperton, exploring the island and making a detailed report of its vegetation.{{sfnp|Sachet|1962b|p=286}}

The common name for the island comes from [[John Clipperton]], an English [[pirate]] and [[privateer]], who fought the Spanish during the early 18th century and is said to have passed by the island. Some sources claim that he used it as a base for his raids on shipping.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Büch|first=Boudewijn|year=2003|title=Eilanden|language=nl|trans-title=Islands|location=Netherlands|publisher=Singel Pockets|isbn=978-9-04-133086-4}}</ref>

===19th century===

====Mexican claim 1821–1858====
After its [[Declaration of Independence (Mexico)|declaration of independence]] in 1821, Mexico took possession of the lands that had once belonged to Spain. As Spanish records noted the existence of the island as early as 1528, the territory was incorporated into Mexico.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vargas |first=Jorge A. |editor-last1=Lowe |editor-first1=Vaughan |editor-last2=Churchill |editor-first2=Robin |page=470 |title=Mexico and the Law of the Sea: Contributions and Compromises |date=2011 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-20621-2 |location=Leiden, Netherlands |oclc=754793865 }}</ref> The [[Constitution of Mexico|Mexican constitution of 1917]] explicitly includes the island, using the Spanish name {{lang|es|La Pasión}}, as Mexican territory. This would be amended on January 18, 1934, after the sovereignty dispute over the island was settled in favour of France.<ref>{{Cite book |editor1-last=Kraska |editor1-first=James |editor2-last=Yang |editor2-first=Hee-Cheol |date=2023 |title=Peaceful management of maritime disputes |isbn=978-1-003-37721-4 |location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames]] |publisher=Routledge |oclc=1357019799 }}</ref>
[[File:$1 stamp of Clipperton Island.jpg|thumb|1895 $1 stamp of Clipperton Island, issued by W. Frese & Co. as an agent of the Oceanic Phosphate Company. The [[local post|local post stamps]] were used for mail travelling between Clipperton and San Francisco.<ref name="Baldus-2009">{{cite magazine |title=The Stamps of Clipperton Island |last=Baldus |first=Wolfgang |author-link=Wolfgang Baldus |journal=The Postal Gazette |volume=IV |issue=5 |date=October 2009 |page=42 |url=http://www.thepostalgazette.com/issues/26/Clipperton_Stamps.pdf |access-date=5 April 2023 |archive-date=6 June 2019 |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20190606083740/http://www.thepostalgazette.com/issues/26/Clipperton_Stamps.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>|alt=Old postage stamp from Clipperton Island]]{{Text and translation
| El territorio nacional comprende el de las partes integrantes de la Federación y además el de las islas adyacentes en ambos mares. Comprende, asimismo, la isla de Guadalupe, las de Revillagigedo y la de la Pasión, situadas en el océano Pacífico.
| The national territory includes that of the integral parts of the Federation and also that of the adjacent islands in both seas. It also includes the island of Guadalupe, Revillagigedo and La Pasión, located in the Pacific Ocean.
| Mexican Constitution of 1917<ref>{{Cite journal |date=March 1917 |title=Mexican Constitution of 1917 Compared With Constitution of 1857 |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002716217071001S03 |journal=[[The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science]]|volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=1–116 |doi=10.1177/0002716217071001S03 |hdl=2027/hvd.32044058928805 |s2cid=152529340 |issn=0002-7162 |access-date=5 April 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405212724/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002716217071001S03 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
}}

====French claim (1858)====
In April 1858, French minister [[Eugène Rouher]] reached an agreement with a Mr. Lockhard of Le Havre to claim oceanic islands in the Pacific for the exploitation of guano deposits.<ref name="Tchékémian-2021"/> On 17&nbsp;November 1858, [[Emperor of the French|Emperor]] [[Napoleon III]] formally annexed Clipperton as part of the French protectorate of [[Kingdom of Tahiti|Tahiti]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jost |first=Christian |date=2005-12-01 |title=Bibliographie de l'île de Clipperton – Île de La Passion (1711–2005) |url=http://journals.openedition.org/jso/481 |journal=[[Société des Océanistes|Journal de la société des océanistes]] |issue=120–121 |pages=181–197 |doi=10.4000/jso.481 |issn=0300-953X |access-date=5 April 2023 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202185735/https://journals.openedition.org/jso/481 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> Sailing aboard Lockhart's ship ''Amiral'', Ship-of-the-line Lieutenant Victor Le Coat de Kervéguen published a notice of this annexation in Hawaiian newspapers to further cement France's claim to the island.<ref name="Ehrhardt-1971"/><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=15 Jan 1859 |title=Empire of France! |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/127171891/ |work=The Pacific Commercial Advertiser |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |access-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627051449/https://www.newspapers.com/article/127171891/ |archive-date=27 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pardon |first=Daniel |date=2020-05-15 |title=1858: Napoléon III déclenche la guerre des drapeaux à Clipperton |language=fr |trans-title=1858: Napoleon III launches the War of the Flags at Clipperton |work=Tahiti Infos |url=https://www.tahiti-infos.com/1858-Napoleon-III-declenche-la-guerre-des-drapeaux-a-Clipperton_a191124.html |access-date=2023-06-01 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601190654/https://www.tahiti-infos.com/1858-Napoleon-III-declenche-la-guerre-des-drapeaux-a-Clipperton_a191124.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Guano mining claims (1892–1905)====
In 1892, a claim on the island was filed with the U.S. State Department under the U.S. [[Guano Islands Act]] by Frederick W. Permien of San Francisco on behalf of the Stonington Phosphate Company.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 15, 1898 |title=Cannot Claim Island: State Department Says Clipperton Island No Part of U.S.|volume=33 |page=2 |work=The Hawaiian Gazette |issue=13 |location=Honolulu, Hawaiʻi |editor-last=Armstrong |editor-first=W. N. |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025121/1898-02-15/ed-1/seq-2 |access-date=2023-04-23 |issn=2157-1392 |lccn=sn83025121 |oclc=9249554 |via=Library of Congress |archive-date=27 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427220734/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025121/1898-02-15/ed-1/seq-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1893, Permien transferred those rights to a new company, the Oceanic Phosphate Company.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Wrighton |first=Scot |date=December 1983 |title=The Pacific Guano Rush |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/12622086-21e7-4f95-b3c8-6eb8cc03156d/content |type=MA |publisher=University of Hawaii |docket= |access-date=2023-04-04 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405013946/https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/12622086-21e7-4f95-b3c8-6eb8cc03156d/content |url-status=live }}</ref> In response to the application, the State Department rejected the claim, noting France's prior claim on the island and that the claim was not bonded as was required by law.<ref>{{cite report|title=The Sovereignty of Guano Islands in the Pacific Ocean|last=Rogers|first=E.S.|date=1933-01-09|publisher=Department of State, Office of the Legal Advisor|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b3266546-ba11-41ea-b0ad-df1b40106580/content|pages=268–271|access-date=30 March 2023|archive-date=10 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310150255/https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b3266546-ba11-41ea-b0ad-df1b40106580/content|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally during this time there were concerns in Mexico that the British or Americans would lay claim to the island.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de México |title=Isla de la Pasión llamada de Clipperton. Publicación oficial. |publisher=Imp. de A. García Cubas Sucesores Hermanos |year=1909 |location=Mexico City, Mexico |pages=5–7 |language=es-mx |trans-title=Passion Island called Clipperton |oclc=11968605}}</ref>

Despite the lack of U.S. approval of its claim, the Oceanic Phosphate Company began mining guano on the island in 1895.{{sfnp|Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de México|1909|pp=3–4}} Although the company had plans for as many as 200 workers on the island, at its peak only 25 men were stationed there.<ref name="Baldus-2009"/> The company shipped its guano to [[Honolulu]] and San Francisco where it sold for between US$10 and US$20 per ton.<ref name="The New York Times-1898">{{Cite news |date=1898-03-11 |title=Mexicans Ask Indemnity; Attempt to Enforce Their Claim on Clipperton Island.|volume=XLVII |issue=15028 |page=5 |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/03/11/102087378.html?zoom=14.700000000000001 |access-date=2023-04-06 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410153939/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/03/11/102087378.html?zoom=14.700000000000001 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1897, the Oceanic Phosphate Company began negotiations with the British [[John T. Arundel#Pacific Islands Company Ltd|Pacific Islands Company]] to transfer its interest in Clipperton; this drew the attention of both French and Mexican officials.<ref name="Van Dyke-1980">{{Cite journal |last1=Van Dyke |first1=Jon |last2=Brooks |first2=Robert A. |date=Fall 1980 |title=Uninhabited Islands: Their Impact on Ownership of the Ocean's Resources |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TvwjAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA23-PA19 |access-date=2023-04-06 |journal=Sea Grant Quarterly |volume=2 |issue=3 |page=19  |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406144819/https://books.google.com/books?id=TvwjAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA23-PA19 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 24&nbsp;November 1897, French naval authorities arrived on the ''[[French cruiser Duguay-Trouin (1877)|Duguay Trouin]]'' and found three Americans working on the island. The French ordered the [[American flag]] to be lowered.<ref name="Van Dyke-1980"/> At that time, U.S. authorities assured the French that they did not intend to assert American sovereignty over the island.<ref name="Dickinson-1933" /><ref name="Victor Emmanuel III-1932">{{Cite journal |author=[[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]] |year=1932 |url=https://www.ilsa.org/Jessup/Jessup10/basicmats/clipperton.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.ilsa.org/Jessup/Jessup10/basicmats/clipperton.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Arbitral award on the subject of the difference relative to the sovereignty over Clipperton Island |journal=[[The American Journal of International Law]] |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=390–394 |jstor=2189369 |doi=10.2307/2189369 |s2cid=246005364}}</ref> A few weeks later, on 13&nbsp;December 1897, Mexico sent the [[gunboat]] ''La Demócrata'' and a group of marines to assert its claim on the island, evicting the Americans, raising the Mexican flag,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arias Díaz |first=Mateo |date=2024-09-17 |title=El pleito por la Isla de Clipperton visto a través de los periódicos mexicanos y franceses durante el Porfiriato |url=http://letrashistoricas.cucsh.udg.mx/index.php/LH/article/view/7420 |journal=Letras Históricas |language=es |issue=30 |pages=28 pp.–28 pp |doi=10.31836/lh.30.7420 |access-date=2024-09-20|doi-access=free }}</ref> and drawing a protest from France.{{sfnp|Rogers|1933|pp=278–279}}<ref>{{Citation |last1=Kirchner |first1=Stefan |title=Clipperton Island |date=2023 |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-68846-6_733-1 |encyclopedia=Global Encyclopedia of Territorial Rights |pages=1–5 |editor-last=Gray |editor-first=Kevin W. |access-date=2023-12-23 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-68846-6_733-1 |isbn=978-3-319-68846-6 |last2=Ulatowski |first2=Laura|url-access=subscription }}</ref> From 1898 to 1905, the Pacific Islands Company worked the Clipperton guano deposits under a concession agreement with Mexico.<ref name="Van Dyke-1980"/><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Ongay Mendez |first=Alfredo Fernando |date=1945 |title=El Arbitra de la Isla Clipperton Modos de Adquirir y Enajenar en Derecho International Publico |trans-title=The Clipperton Island Arbitration Modes of Acquisition and Disposal in Public International Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9gPPwAACAAJ |publisher=Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico |language=es-mx |docket= |access-date=2023-04-05 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410153938/https://books.google.com/books?id=v9gPPwAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1898, Mexico made a US$1.5 million claim against the Oceanic Phosphate Company for the guano shipped from the island from 1895 to 1897.<ref name="The New York Times-1898"/>

===20th century===
====Mexican colonisation (1905–1917)====
In 1905, the Mexican government renegotiated its agreement with the British Pacific Islands Company, establishing a military garrison on the island a year later and erecting a [[lighthouse]] under the orders of [[List of Presidents of Mexico|Mexican President]] [[Porfirio Díaz]]. Captain [[Ramón Arnaud]] was appointed governor of Clipperton. At first he was reluctant to accept the post, believing it amounted to exile from Mexico, but he relented after being told that Díaz had personally chosen him to protect Mexico's interests in the international conflict with France. It was also noted that because Arnaud spoke English and French he would be well-equipped to help protect Mexico's sovereignty over the territory.<ref name="Van Dyke-1980"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Arnaud |first=Gabriela |year=2015 |title=Clipperton, Una Historia de Honor y Gloria |language=es |trans-title=Clipperton, A History of Honour and Glory |publisher=Bubok Editorial |location=Mexico |isbn=978-84-686-8274-7}}</ref> He arrived on Clipperton as governor later that year.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kunz |first1=Marco |last2=Mondragón |first2=Cristina |date=2019 |title=Nuevas narrativas Mexicanas 3 escrituras en transformación |language=es |location=Barcelona |publisher=Linkgua Ediciones |isbn=978-84-9953-591-3 |oclc=1197904147 }}</ref>

By 1914 around 100 men, women, and children lived on the island, resupplied every two months by a ship from [[Acapulco]]. With the escalation of fighting in the [[Mexican Revolution]], regular resupply visits ceased, and the inhabitants were left to their own devices.<ref name="ClippertonProject.com-2014">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ClippertonProject.com/expeditions/clipperton-island-2012/about-clipperton-island/|title=About Clipperton Island|website=ClippertonProject.com|publisher=The Clipperton Project|date=2014|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117040649/http://www.clippertonproject.com/expeditions/clipperton-island-2012/about-clipperton-island/|archive-date=17 January 2014}}</ref> On 28 February 1914, the schooner ''Nokomis'' wrecked on Clipperton; with a still seaworthy lifeboat, four members of the crew volunteered to row to Acapulco for help.<ref name="Perrill-1937">{{cite magazine |last=Perrill |first=Charlotte |date=June 1937 |title=Forgotten Island |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1937/june/forgotten-island |url-status=live |magazine=Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute |volume=63/6/412 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405022521/https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1937/june/forgotten-island |archive-date=5 April 2023 |access-date=2023-04-04 |quote="Four men of the crew of the Nokomis volunteered to man a boat and attempt the hazardous trip to Acapulco."}}</ref> The {{USS|Cleveland|C-19|6}} arrived months later to rescue the crew.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=24 June 1914 |title=Three Men Sail 500 Miles in Open Boat |volume=31 |work=South Bend News-Times |issue=182 |location=South Bend, Indiana |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=SBNT19140624.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |url-status=live |access-date=2023-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405022520/https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=SBNT19140624.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |archive-date=5 April 2023 |quote="As soon as their story had been told to Admiral Howard, the cruiser Cleveland was dispatched from Acapulco under full steam to Clipperton Island..."}}</ref> While there, the captain offered to transport the survivors of the colony back to Acapulco; Arnaud refused as he believed a supply ship would soon arrive.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bennett |first=Raine |date=10 Jan 1954 |title=The Madonna of Passion Isle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123690540/the-madonna-of-passion-isle-1-of-2/ |work=[[The American Weekly]] |location=New York, New York |pages=12–13 |access-date=2023-04-04 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=28 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428190426/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123690540/the-madonna-of-passion-isle-1-of-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:SobrevivientesClipperton.jpg|thumb|Mexican survivors from Clipperton Island, 1917|alt=Black and white photograph of women and children]]
By 1917, all but one of the male inhabitants had died. Many had perished from [[scurvy]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jean-Baptiste |first1=Philippe |last2=Fourré |first2=Elise |last3=Charlou |first3=Jean-Luc |last4=Donval |first4=Jean-Pierre |last5=Corrège |first5=Thierry |date=2009 |title=Gaining insight into Clipperton's lagoon hydrology using tritium |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0272771409001334 |journal=[[Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science]]|volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=39–46 |doi=10.1016/j.ecss.2009.03.017 |bibcode=2009ECSS...83...39J |s2cid=42281088 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=13 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213225012/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0272771409001334 |url-status=live }}</ref> while others, including Arnaud, died during an attempt to sail after a passing ship to fetch help.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Restrepo |first=Laura |title=La Isla de la Pasión |year=2014 |publisher=Alfaguara |isbn=978-84-204-1831-5 |oclc=898062834 }}</ref> Lighthouse keeper Victoriano Álvarez was the last man on the island, together with 15 women and children.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ElaineJobin.com/Elsewhere/Pacific/Clipperton_2010/000.html|title=Trip report and photos: Clipperton Island – April 10–25, 2010|website=ElaineJobin.com|publisher=Elaine Jobin|access-date=17 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801013921/http://elainejobin.com/Elsewhere/Pacific/Clipperton_2010/000.html|archive-date=1 August 2012}}</ref> Álvarez proclaimed himself 'king', and began a campaign of rape and murder, before being killed by Tirza Rendón, who was his favourite victim. Almost immediately after Álvarez's death, four women and seven children, the last survivors, were picked up by the U.S. Navy gunship {{USS|Yorktown|PG-1|2}} on 18 July 1917.<ref name="ClippertonProject.com-2014" /><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=4 December 1937 |title=Navy Talk: The New Yorktown and Her Predecessors |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123690949/ |work=Great Lakes Bulletin |location=Great Lakes, Illinois |volume=12 |issue=45 |page=3 |access-date=2023-03-30 |via=Newspapers.com }}</ref>

====Final arbitration of ownership (1931)====
{{see also|Clipperton Island case}}

Throughout Mexico's occupation of Clipperton, France insisted on its ownership of the island, and lengthy diplomatic correspondence between the two countries led to a treaty on 2&nbsp;March 1909, agreeing to seek binding [[international arbitration]] by [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]], with each nation promising to abide by his determination.<ref name="Dickinson-1933" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://Pastel.Diplomatie.gouv.fr/choiseul/ressource/pdf/D19090019.pdf|title=Original treaty between Mexico and France|language=fr|website=Pastel.Diplomatie.gouv.fr|publisher=French Foreign Ministry Archives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725105321/https://pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/choiseul/ressource/pdf/D19090019.pdf|archive-date=25 July 2011|access-date=19 June 2009}}</ref> In 1931, Victor Emmanuel III issued his arbitral decision in the [[Clipperton Island Case]], declaring Clipperton a French possession.<ref name="Victor Emmanuel III-1932" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Recueil des Sentences Arbitrales|language=fr|trans-title=Reports of International Arbitral Awards|chapter=Affaire de l'île de Clipperton (Mexique contre France)|chapter-url=http://Legal.UN.org/riaa/cases/vol_II/1105-1111.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://Legal.UN.org/riaa/cases/vol_II/1105-1111.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|trans-chapter=Case of Clipperton Island (Mexico v. France)|date=28 January 1931|volume=II|pages=1105–1111|publisher=[[United Nations]]|publication-date=2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|editor1-first=John P.|editor1-last=Grant|editor2-first=Craig|editor2-last=Barker|year=2009|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195389777.001.0001/acref-9780195389777-e-386|title=Clipperton Island case|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law|edition=3rd|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-538977-7|doi=10.1093/acref/9780195389777.001.0001|access-date=27 April 2022|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214065047/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195389777.001.0001/acref-9780195389777-e-386|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Heflin|first=William B.|year=2000|title=Diayou / Senkaku islands dispute: Japan and China, Oceans Apart|url=http://www.Hawaii.edu/aplpj/articles/APLPJ_01.2_heflin.pdf|journal=[[Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal]]|volume=1|issue=18|pages=11–13|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928092444/http://www.hawaii.edu/aplpj/articles/APLPJ_01.2_heflin.pdf|archive-date=28 September 2010}}</ref> Mexican President [[Pascual Ortiz Rubio]], in response to public opinion that considered the Italian king biased towards France, consulted international experts on the validity of the decision, but ultimately Mexico accepted Victor Emmanuel's findings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vargas |first=Jorge A. |title=Mexico and the Law of the Sea: Contributions and Compromises |date=2011-08-11 |publisher=Brill {{!}} Nijhoff |isbn=978-90-04-20621-2 |location=Leiden, Netherlands |page=410 |chapter=Mexico's Islands: Mirage or Reality? |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004206205.i-544.39 |chapter-url=https://brill.com/view/title/20234 |access-date=7 July 2023 |archive-date=20 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620042538/https://brill.com/view/title/20234 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Mexican press at the time raised the issue of the [[Monroe Doctrine]] with the United States, stating that the French claim had preceded its issuance.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parks |first=E. Taylor |date=1962 |title=European Possessions in the Americas |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0885311800002556/type/journal_article |journal=Journal of Inter-American Studies |language=en |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=395–405 |doi=10.2307/164954 |jstor=164954 |issn=0885-3118|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burns |first=Josephine Joan |date=1931–1932 |title=The Clipperton Island Case France v. Mexico |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/ilanrelat2&div=28&id=&page= |journal=Cumulative Digest of International Law and Relations |volume=2 |page=94}}</ref> France formally took possession of Clipperton on January 26, 1935.<ref>{{Cite book |last=González Avelar |first=Miguel |title=Clipperton, isla mexicana |trans-title=Clipperton, Mexican Island |date=1992 |publisher=Fondo de Cultura Económica |isbn=968-16-3787-9 |edition=1 |location=México |language=es |oclc=29345009}}</ref>

====U.S. presidential visit====
President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] visited Clipperton Island in July 1938 aboard the {{USS|Houston|CA-30|6}} as part of a fishing expedition to the [[Galápagos Islands]] and other points along the Central and South American coasts.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=22 Jul 1938 |title=President's Party Explores Perilous Clipperton Island |work=The Star Press |page=1 |volume=65 |issue=85 |location=Muncie, Indiana |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123691132/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707144734/https://www.newspapers.com/article/123691132/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Naval History and Heritage Command">{{Cite web |title=Houston II (CA-30) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/h/houston-ii.html |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command|archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406154737/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/h/houston-ii.html }}</ref> At the island, Roosevelt and his party spent time fishing for sharks,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=22 Jul 1938 |title=President and His Fishing Friends Land Five Sharks |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123691242/ |work=The Belleville News-Democrat |volume=83 |number=202 |page=2 |location=Belleville, Illinois |access-date=2023-04-01 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707144752/https://www.newspapers.com/article/123691242/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and afterwards Dr. [[Waldo L. Schmitt]] of the [[Smithsonian Institution]] went ashore with some crew to gather scientific samples and make observations of the island.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=September 1939 |title=Oceanographical Results from Central America |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=144 |issue=3647 |page=545 |doi=10.1038/144545c0 |bibcode=1939Natur.144S.545. |s2cid=41695266 |issn=0028-0836 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=22 Jul 1938 |title=Scientists Study Island While President Fishes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123691360/ |work=The Baltimore Sun |volume=230-D |page=11 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |access-date=2023-04-01 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite archive |first=Waldo L. |last=Schmitt |author-link=Waldo L. Schmitt |item=Presidential Cruise of 1938 : diary |item-url= |type=Diary |item-id= |date=July 21, 1938 |pages=12–14 |fonds= |file= |box= |collection=Smithsonian Field Books |collection-url=https://archive.org/details/sifieldbooks |institution=Smithsonian Institution |location =College Park, Maryland}}</ref>

Roosevelt had previously tried to visit Clipperton in July 1934 after transiting through the Panama Canal en route to Hawaii on the ''Houston''; he had heard the area was good for fishing, but heavy seas prevented them from lowering a boat when they reached the island.<ref name="Naval History and Heritage Command"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Roosevelt Heads for Clipperton Island, Where the Fishing Is Reported Excellent |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |author=<!--no byline--> |date=18 July 1934 |volume=LXXXIII |issue=27932 |page=32 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/07/16/93634380.html?zoom=14.84 |via=TimesMachine |access-date=14 June 2023 |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707144735/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/07/16/93634380.html?zoom=14.84 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 19 July 1934, soon after the stop at Clipperton, the rigid airship {{USS|Macon|ZRS-5|6}} rendezvoused with the ''Houston'', and one of the ''Macon''{{'s}} [[Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk|Curtiss F9C]] biplanes delivered mail to the president.<ref name="Naval History and Heritage Command"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Grossnick |first=Roy |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/navys-lighter-than-air-experience-monograph/pdfs/lta-05.pdf |title=Kite Balloons to Airships the Navy's Lighter-than-Air Experience |publisher=Naval Air Systems Command, United States. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations |year=1987 |page=33 |access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401033815/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/navys-lighter-than-air-experience-monograph/pdfs/lta-05.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Grossnick |first1=Roy |url=https://archive.org/details/UnitedStatesNavalAviation1910-1995/mode/2up |title=United States Naval Aviation, 1910–1995 |last2=Armstrong |first2=William |publisher=US Naval History & Heritage Command |year=1997 |edition=4th |location=Washington, D.C. |page=87}}</ref>

====American occupation (1944–1945)====
{{Quote box
| quote = The Government of the United States is aware of the extent to which the French Government is desirous to cooperate, in all domains, to the success of the Allied Armies, in Europe as well as in the Pacific. It will understand, however, its concern that French sovereignty be not disregarded in any part of the empire.
| author = {{mdash}} [[Georges Bidault]]
| source = {{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=789}}
| align = right
| width = 20%
}}

[[File:NH 122194.jpg|thumb|left|The U.S. Navy weather station on the northern side of Clipperton. View is from the top of a radio tower, looking northwest.|alt=Old military barracks on a tropical island]]In April 1944, the {{USS|Atlanta|CL-104|6}} took observations of Clipperton while en route to Hawaii.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=Thomas F. |title=Clipperton: The island of lost toys and other treasures |date=2005 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=1-4120-7032-5 |location=Victoria, B.C. |page=90 |oclc=70893221}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlanta III (CL-51) |first=Robert J. |last=Cressman |date=2017-02-14 |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/atlanta-cl-51-iii.html |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command|archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604181212/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/atlanta-cl-51-iii.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After an overflight of the island by planes from the {{USS|Detroit|CL-8|6}} and {{USS|Nevada|BB-36|6}} to ensure Clipperton was uninhabited,<ref>{{cite archive |first=Wilson |last=Brown |item=Memorandum for the President |type=Textual record |date=December 4, 1944 |item-url=http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/mr/mr0836.pdf |collection-url=http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/collections/franklin/?p=collections/findingaid&id=511|series=Military Files |file=Naval Aide's Files A4-3 Air Base – Clipperton Island |box=162 |collection=Franklin D. Roosevelt, Papers as President: Map Room Papers, 1941–1945 |repository=Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum |institution=Marist College |location=Poughkeepsie, New York |page=134}}</ref> the {{USS|Argus|PY-14|6}} departed San Francisco on 4 December 1944 with [[Atmospheric science|aerological]] specialists and personnel, arriving at Clipperton a week later, and was followed several days later by {{USS|LST-563}} with provisions, heavy equipment, and equipment for construction of a [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] weather station on the island.<ref name="Lowry-1962">{{Cite journal |last=Lowry |first=George |author-link=George M. Lowry |date=1962 |title=The Clipperton Operation |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1962/february/clipperton-operation |journal=[[Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute]] |volume=88 |issue=2/708 |access-date=31 March 2023 |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331213830/https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1962/february/clipperton-operation |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Converse-2005">{{Cite book |last=Converse |first=Elliott III |date=2005 |title=Circling the Earth United States Plans for a Postwar Overseas Military Base System, 1942–1948 |editor-last=Porter |editor-first=George |editor-last2=Moore |editor-first2=Mary |location=[[Montgomery, Alabama]] |publisher=Air University Press |access-date=1 April 2023 |url=https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/31/2001725262/-1/-1/0/B_0097_CONVERSE_CIRCLING_EARTH.PDF |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410153855/https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/31/2001725262/-1/-1/0/B_0097_CONVERSE_CIRCLING_EARTH.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Thorne-1978">{{Cite book |first=Christopher |last=Thorne |title=Allies of a kind: the United States, Britain and the war against Japan, 1941–1945 |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |year=1978 |location=London |oclc=759160860 |pages=77, 666–667}}</ref> The sailors at the weather station were armed in case of a possible Japanese attack in the region.<ref name="Office of the Historian, United States Department of State-1968">{{cite report |editor-first1= William |editor-last1= Slany |editor-first2= John |editor-last2= Reid |editor-first3= N.O. |editor-last3= Sappington |editor-first4= Douglas |editor-last4= Houston |editor-first5= E. Ralph |editor-last5= Penkins |editor-first6= S. Everett |editor-last6= Gleason |date= 1968 |title= Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, Europe |url= https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945v04/ch22 |publisher= Office of the Historian, United States Department of State |chapter= 22 |volume= 4 |access-date= 2023-03-31 |page= 784 |ref= {{harvid|Diplomatic Papers|1946}} |archive-date= 31 March 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230331192907/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945v04/ch22 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=27 May 1954 |title=Lonely Island Has a 'Jinx' |work=Herald Express |location=Torquay, Devon, England |issue=9458 |page=6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123691525/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707144801/https://www.newspapers.com/article/123691525/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Landing on the island proved challenging. On 21 December, ''LST-563'' grounded on the reef and the salvage ship {{USS|Seize|ARS-26|6}} was brought in to help refloat the ship but it too was grounded.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bartholomew |first1=Charles |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/publications/Publication-PDF/MudMuscleMiracles.pdf |title=Mud, Muscle, and Miracles: Marine Salvage in the United States Navy |last2=Milwee |first2=William |publisher=Naval History & Heritage Command, United States Navy |year=2009 |edition=2nd |location=Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America |pages=165–167 |language=en-US |access-date=2024-09-20}}</ref> Finally, in January 1945, the {{USS|Viking|ARS-1|6}} and {{USS|Tenino|ATF-115|6}} were able to free the ''Seize'' and to offload equipment from ''LST-563'' before it was abandoned.<ref name="Lowry-1962"/>

Once the weather station was completed and sailors garrisoned on the island, the U.S. government informed the British, French, and Mexican governments of the station and its purpose.{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|pp=785–787}} Every day at 9 a.m., the 24 sailors stationed at the Clipperton weather station sent up weather balloons to gather information.{{sfnp|Fluckey|2004|p=17}}{{sfnp|Fluckey|2012|p=16}} Later, Clipperton was considered for an airfield to shift traffic between North America and Australia far from the front lines of [[Pacific Theater (World War II)|Pacific Theater]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Patrick Gordon |author-link=Gordon Taylor (aviator) |date=1948 |title=Forgotten Island |url=https://worldcat.org/title/1341899815 |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |publisher=Shakespeare Head |access-date=3 April 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405122529/https://worldcat.org/title/1341899815 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 1943, during a meeting between presidents [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] of the U.S. and [[Manuel Ávila Camacho|Avila Camacho]] of Mexico, the topic of Mexican ownership of Clipperton was raised. The American government seemed interested in Clipperton being handed over to Mexico due to the importance the island might play in both commercial and military air travel,{{sfnp|Converse|2005|pp=77–78}} as well as its proximity to the [[Panama Canal]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Conn |first1=Stetson |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/004/4-2/CMH_Pub_4-2.pdf |title=Guarding The United States and Its Outposts |last2=Engelman |first2=Rose |last3=Fairchild |first3=Byron |publisher=Center for Military History, United States Army |year=1962 |editor-last=Friedman |editor-first=Joseph |series=United States Army in World War II |volume=Second |location=Washington, District of Columbia |page=304|access-date=1 April 2023 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401004353/https://history.army.mil/html/books/004/4-2/CMH_Pub_4-2.pdf }}</ref>{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=783}}{{sfnp|Thorne|1978|p=262}}{{sfnp|Converse|2005|p=107}}

Although these talks were informal, the U.S. backed away from any Mexican claim on Clipperton as Mexico had previously accepted the 1931 arbitration decision. The U.S. government also felt it would be easier to obtain a military base on the island from France.{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=786–787}}{{sfnp|Converse|2005|p=81}} However, after the French government was notified about the weather station, relations on this matter deteriorated rapidly<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sapp |first=Steven P. |date=1982 |title=Jefferson Caffery, Cold War Diplomat: American-French Relations 1944–49 |journal=[[Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association]] |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=179–192 |jstor=4232169 |issn=0024-6816 }}</ref> with the French government sending a formal note of protest in defence of French sovereignty.<ref name="Thorne-1978"/><ref name="Elsey">{{cite archive |first=George |last=Elsey |item=Memorandum for Admiral Brown Clipperton Island |type=Textual record |date=27 February 1945 |item-url=http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/mr/mr0836.pdf |collection-url=http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/collections/franklin/?p=collections/findingaid&id=511|series=Military Files |file=Naval Aide's Files A4-3 Air Base – Clipperton Island |box=162 |collection=Franklin D. Roosevelt, Papers as President: Map Room Papers, 1941–1945 |repository=Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum |institution=Marist College |location=Poughkeepsie, New York |page=11}}</ref>{{sfnp|Converse|2005|pp=80–81}} In response, the U.S. extended an offer for the French military to operate the station or to have the Americans agree to leave the weather station under the same framework previously agreed to with other weather stations in France and North Africa.<ref name="Commission de publication des documents diplomatiques français-1998">{{Cite book |author=Commission de publication des documents diplomatiques français |title=Documents diplomatiques français: 1945 / Tome I, 1er janvier–30 juin |trans-title=French diplomatic documents: 1945 / Volume I, January 1 – June 30 |language=fr |date=1998 |publisher=Impr. nationale |editor1-first=Georges-Henri |editor1-last=Soutou |editor2-first=Michèle |editor2-last=Galdemar |editor3-first=Sylvie |editor3-last=Lefèvre |editor4-first=Sylvain |editor4-last=Wagnon-Charpy |isbn=2-11-089146-7 |location=Paris |oclc=490363689 | ref = {{harvid|French Dipolomatic Documents|1998}} |pages=55, 110}}</ref> There were additional concerns within the newly formed [[Provisional Government of the French Republic]] that notification of the installation was made to military and not civilian leadership.{{sfnp|French Dipolomatic Documents|1998|p=722}}
[[File:Clipperton Island Jeep and Radio.ogg|left|thumb|Video of the crew of the {{USS|Concord|CL-10|6}} on Clipperton Island landing a Jeep and using a radio]]
French Foreign Minister [[Georges Bidault]] said of the incident: "This is very humiliating to us we are anxious to cooperate with you, but sometimes you do not make it easy".<ref name="Thorne-1978"/>{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=789}}{{sfnp|Converse|2005|p=80}} French Vice Admiral [[Raymond Fenard]] requested during a meeting with U.S. Admiral [[Lyal A. Davidson]] that civilians be given access to Clipperton and the surrounding waters,{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=788}} but the U.S. Navy denied the request because there was an active military installation on the island. Instead Davidson offered to transport a French officer to the installation and reassured the French government that the United States did not wish to claim sovereignty over the island.{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=791}} During these discussions between the admirals, French diplomats in Mexico attempted to hire the Mexican vessel ''Pez de Plata'' out of [[Acapulco]] to bring a military attaché to Clipperton under a cover story that they were going on a shark fishing trip.{{sfnp|Elsey|1945|p=12}} At the request of the Americans, the Mexican government refused to allow the ''Pez De Plata'' to leave port.{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=789}} French officials then attempted to leave in another smaller vessel and filed a false destination with the local port authorities but were also stopped by Mexican officials.{{sfnp|Elsey|1945|p=13}}

During this period, French officials in Mexico leaked information about their concerns, as well as about the arrival of seaplanes at Clipperton, to ''The New York Times'' and ''Newsweek''; both stories were refused publishing clearance on national security grounds.{{sfnp|Elsey|1945|pp=13–15}} In February 1945, the U.S. Navy transported French Officer Lieutenant Louis Jampierre on a 4-day trip to Clipperton out of San Diego<ref>{{Cite web |title=XXe siècle {{!}} Clipperton – Projets d'Outre-Mer |url=http://clipperton.cpom.fr/histoire/xxe-siecle/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |language=fr-FR |archive-date=28 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128044208/https://clipperton.cpom.fr/histoire/xxe-siecle/ |url-status=live }}</ref> where he visited the installation and that afternoon returned to the United States.{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=792}}<ref>{{cite archive |first=Wallace |last=Beakley |item=Visit of French Naval Officer to Clipperton Island |type=Textual record |date=23 February 1945 |item-url=http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/mr/mr0836.pdf |collection-url=http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/collections/franklin/?p=collections/findingaid&id=511|series=Military Files |file=Naval Aide's Files A4-3 Air Base – Clipperton Island |box=162 |collection=Franklin D. Roosevelt, Papers as President: Map Room Papers, 1941–1945 |repository=Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum |institution=Marist College |location=Poughkeepsie, New York |page=21}}</ref> As the war in the Pacific progressed, concerns about Japanese incursions into the Eastern Pacific were reduced and in September 1945 the U.S. Navy began removing from Clipperton.{{sfnp|Diplomatic Papers|1946|p=794}}<ref name="Appelo-2014">{{cite interview |last=Appelo |first=Burton |interviewer-last1=Strand |interviewer-first1=Gordon |interviewer-last2=Benson |interviewer-first2=Brandon |title=Interview of Burton Appelo |work=[[National Nordic Museum]] |date=July 25, 2014 |location=Naselle, Washington |url=http://ppolinks.com/nordicmuseum/BurtonAppelo.pdf |access-date=2023-04-01 |pages=10–11 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401064128/http://ppolinks.com/nordicmuseum/BurtonAppelo.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> During the evacuation, munitions were destroyed, but significant matériel was left on the island.<ref name="Appelo-2014" /><ref name="Forcari">{{Cite news |last=Forcari |first=Christophe |title=Clipperton, un destin noir au milieu de nulle part |trans-title=Clipperton, a dark destiny in the middle of nowhere |language=fr |url=https://www.liberation.fr/voyages/2016/06/21/clipperton-un-destin-noir-au-milieu-de-nulle-part_1460809/ |access-date=2023-04-01 |work=Libération |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401090613/https://www.liberation.fr/voyages/2016/06/21/clipperton-un-destin-noir-au-milieu-de-nulle-part_1460809/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By 21 October 1945, the last U.S. Navy staff at the weather station left Clipperton.<ref name="Lowry-1962"/>

====Post-World War II developments====
Since the island was abandoned by American forces at the end of [[World War II]], the island has been visited by sports fishermen, French naval patrols, and Mexican tuna and shark fishermen. There have been infrequent scientific and amateur radio expeditions and, in 1978, [[Jacques-Yves Cousteau]] visited with a team of divers and a survivor from the 1917 evacuation to film a television special called ''Clipperton: The Island that Time Forgot''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Rogerson |first=Simon |date=19 July 2006 |url=http://www.DiveMagazine.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=2934&v=5&sp=332382698484330872538 |title=Cousteau and the Pit |magazine=Dive Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415195236/http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=2934&v=5&sp=332382698484330872538 |archive-date=15 April 2009 |access-date=24 June 2008}}</ref>

The island was visited by ornithologist [[Kenneth E. Stager|Ken Stager]] of the [[Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County|Los Angeles County Museum]] in 1958.<ref name="Stager-1964" /> Appalled at the depredations visited by feral pigs upon the island's [[brown booby]] and [[masked booby]] colonies (reduced to 500 and 150&nbsp;birds, respectively), Stager procured a shotgun and killed all 58&nbsp;pigs.<ref name="McLellan-2014">{{cite news |last=McLellan |first=Dennis |date=September 16, 2014 |title=Kenneth E. Stager dies at 94; curator of birds and mammals at L.A. County Natural History Museum |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-me-kenneth-stager3-2009jun03-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=2023-04-02 |archive-date=2 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402093101/https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-me-kenneth-stager3-2009jun03-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2003, the booby colonies had grown to 25,000&nbsp;brown boobies and 112,000&nbsp;masked boobies, making Clipperton home to the world's second-largest brown booby colony, and its largest masked booby colony.<ref name="Pitman-2005" /> In 1994, Stager's story inspired Bernie Tershy and Don Croll, both professors at the [[University of California, Santa Cruz]] [[Long Marine Laboratory|Long Marine Lab]], to found the non-profit [[Island Conservation]], which works to prevent extinctions through the removal of invasive species from islands.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Townsend |first=Peggy |date=2014-05-09 |title=Averting Extinction |url=https://news.ucsc.edu/2014/05/rev-spring-14-averting-extinction.html |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=UC Santa Cruz News|archive-date=5 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205052831/https://news.ucsc.edu/2014/05/rev-spring-14-averting-extinction.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

When the [[independence of Algeria]] in 1962 threatened [[French nuclear testing]] sites in North Africa, the [[Ministry of Defence (France)|French Ministry of Defence]] considered Clipperton as a possible replacement site.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Regnault |first=Jean-Marc |date=2003 |title=France's Search for Nuclear Test Sites, 1957-1963 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/47614 |journal=The Journal of Military History |language=en |volume=67 |issue=4 |pages=1223–1248 |doi=10.1353/jmh.2003.0326 |issn=1543-7795|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Gregory |first=Shaun |chapter=French Defence Policy in a Global Context |date=2000 |title=French Defence Policy into the Twenty-First Century |pages=154–189 |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1057/9780230536739_6 |access-date=2024-08-30 |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |language=en |doi=10.1057/9780230536739_6 |isbn=978-1-349-40220-5|chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref> This was eventually ruled out due to the island's hostile climate and remote location,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Norris |first=Robert S. |date=1996 |title=French and Chinese Nuclear Weapon Testing |journal=Security Dialogue |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=39–54 |doi=10.1177/0967010696027001006 |jstor=44471493 |issn=0967-0106}}</ref> but the island was used to house a small scientific mission to collect data on nuclear fallout from other nuclear tests.<ref name="Forcari" /> From 1966 to 1969, the French military sent a series of missions, called "Bougainville", to the island. The Bougainville missions unloaded some 25 tons of equipment, including sanitary facilities, traditional Polynesian dwellings, drinking water treatment tanks, and generators. The missions sought to surveil the island and its surrounding waters, observe weather conditions, and evaluate potential rehabilitation of the World War II era airstrip.<ref name="Tchekémian-2022"/> By 1978, the structures built during the Bougainville missions had become quite derelict.<ref name="Sacotte-1978" /> The French explored reopening the lagoon and developing a harbour for trade and tourism during the 1970s, but this too was abandoned.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|editor1-last=Barker |editor1-first=Garry |title=Yacht haven planned on Clipperton |pages=33–34 |volume=57 |issue=3 |magazine=Pacific Islands Monthly |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |publisher=Pacific Publications |date=28 February 1986}}</ref> An automatic weather installation was completed on 7&nbsp;April 1980, with data collected by the station transmitted via the [[Argos (satellite system)|Argos satellite system]] to the Lannion Space Meteorology Center in [[Brittany]] France.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nacass |first1=Philippe |title=Clipperton, lointaine terre française et la météorologie |last2=Picquenard |first2=Jean-Pierre |publisher=Met-Mar |year=1983 |pages=41–46 |language=fr |trans-title=Clipperton, distant French land and the meteorology |issn=0222-5123}}</ref>

In 1981, the [[Académie des sciences d'outre-mer]] recommended the island have its own economic infrastructure, with an [[airstrip]] and a fishing port in the lagoon. This would mean opening the lagoon to the ocean by creating a passage in the atoll rim. To oversee this, the French government reassigned Clipperton from the High Commissioner for French Polynesia to the direct authority of the French government, classifying the island as an overseas state private property administered by France's Overseas Minister. In 1986, the Company for the Study, Development and Exploitation of Clipperton Island (French acronym, [[SEDEIC]]) and French officials began outlining a plan for the development of Clipperton as a fishing port,<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers20-02/010021927.pdf |title=L'Interet Economique et Strategique pour la France de l'île Clipperton |last=Auger |first=Alain |date=1988 |publisher=Secrétariat Général de la Défense Nationale |location=Paris, France |pages=80–83 |language=fr |access-date=2023-07-07 |trans-title=The Economic and Strategic Interest for France of Clipperton Island}}</ref> but due to economic constraints, the distance from markets, and the small size of the atoll, nothing beyond preliminary studies was undertaken and plans for the development were abandoned. In the mid-1980s, the French government began efforts to enlist citizens of French Polynesia to settle on Clipperton; these plans were ultimately abandoned as well.<ref>{{cite web |last1=van Dyke |first1=Jon M. |last2=Morgan |first2=Joseph R. |last3=Gurish |first3=Jonathan |title=The Exclusive Economic Zone of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: When Do Uninhabited Islands Generate an EEZ? |url=https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1479&context=sdlr |page=465 |access-date=2 March 2022 |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302154003/https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1479&context=sdlr |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 1994, the [[CNES|French Space Agency]] requested the help of [[NASA]] to track the [[Multistage rocket|first stage breakup]] of the newly designed [[Ariane 5]] rocket.<ref name="Schmidt-1997">{{Cite news |last=Schmidt |first=Karen |date=January 17, 1997 |title=Remote Radar: JSC team goes to extreme ends to conduct science |volume=36 |page=3 |work=Space News Roundup |publisher=[[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] |issue=3 |location=Houston, Texas |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/201698662 |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401032312/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/201698662 |url-status=live }}</ref> After spending a month on Clipperton setting up and calibrating radar equipment to monitor [[Ariane flight V88]], the mission ended in disappointment when the rocket disintegrated 37 seconds after launch due to a software bug.<ref name="Schmidt-1997" /><ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=N° 33–1996: Ariane 501 – Presentation of Inquiry Board report |url=https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Ariane_501_-_Presentation_of_Inquiry_Board_report |publisher=European Space Agency |date=23 July 1996 |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327033026/https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Ariane_501_-_Presentation_of_Inquiry_Board_report |url-status=live }}</ref>

Despite Mexico accepting the 1931 arbitration decision that Clipperton was French territory, the right of Mexican fishing vessels to work Clipperton's territorial waters have remained a point of contention. A 2007 treaty, reaffirmed in 2017, grants Mexican access to Clipperton's fisheries so long as authorisation is sought from the French government, conservation measures are followed, and catches are reported; however, the lack of regular monitoring of the fisheries by France makes verifying compliance difficult.<ref>{{cite report |title=Clipperton, La France des Confins du Pacifique |trans-title=Clipperton, France on the Pacific Front |language=fr |type=Breve marine No. 276 |date=2023 |publisher=Centre d'Études Stratégiques de la Marine |url=https://www.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/cesm/BM_276_Clipperton.pdf |access-date=2023-10-27}}</ref>

===Castaways===
In May 1893, Charles Jensen and "Brick" Thurman of the Oceanic Phosphate Company were left on the island by the company's ship ''Compeer'' with 90 days worth of supplies in order to prevent other attempts to claim the island and its guano. Before sailing for Clipperton, Jensen wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Coast Seamen's Union, [[Andrew Furuseth]], instructing him that if the Oceanic Phosphate Company had not sent a vessel to Clipperton six weeks after the return of the ''Compeer'' to make it known that they had been stranded there.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=2 August 1893 |title=Deserted on a Coral Reef |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98821203/clipperton-island/ |work=The San Francisco Examiner |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=2023-03-30 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406183040/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98821203/clipperton-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Oceanic Phosphate Company denied it had left the men without adequate supplies and contracted the schooner ''Viking'' to retrieve them in late August.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=12 Aug 1893 |title=Clipperton Island The Viking to Rescue Guano Hunters |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123691770/ |work=San Francisco Chronicle |volume=LVIII |issue=28 |page=13 |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=2023-03-30 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707145236/https://www.newspapers.com/article/123691770/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Viking'' rescued the men, who had used seabirds' eggs to supplement their supplies, and returned them to San Francisco on 31 October.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=31 Oct 1893 |title=Two Sailors Deserted on an Island |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123691917/ |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |volume=24 |page=2 |access-date=2023-03-30 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707145300/https://www.newspapers.com/article/123691917/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 1897, the British cargo vessel ''Kinkora'' wrecked on Clipperton;<ref>{{cite object |title=The 'Kinkora' in an unidentified port |medium=Photograph |dimensions=8.9&nbsp;cm x 13.1&nbsp;cm |date=1890 |museum=State Library of South Australia |location=Adelaide, South Australia |url=https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1373/9/15 |access-date=2023-04-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clayton |first=Mark |date=2016 |editor-last=McCarthy |editor-first=Michael |title=The Ancient Mariner |journal=The Great Circle |language=en-AU |location=Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia |publisher=Australian Association for Maritime History |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=27–28 |jstor=26381253 |issn=0156-8698}}</ref> the crew was able to salvage food and water from the ship, allowing them to survive on the island in relative comfort. During the crew's time on the island, a passing vessel offered to take the men to the mainland for $1,500, which the crew refused. Instead eight of the men loaded up a lifeboat and rowed to Acapulco for help.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=21 July 1897 |title=Were Stranded on Clipperton |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC18970721.2.120&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-------- |work=San Francisco Call |volume=82 |issue=51 |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=2023-04-02 |archive-date=2 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402234957/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC18970721.2.120&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-------- |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Coolgardie Miner-1898">{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |editor1-last=Cameron |editor1-first=Don |date=7 Feb 1898 |title=Strange Ocean Story, Remarkable Adventures of a Wrecked Crew |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/217302897 |work=Coolgardie Miner |location=Coolgardie, Western Australia |access-date=2023-04-02|volume=4 |issue=914 |archive-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403004211/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/217302897 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the first mate of the ''Kinkora'', Mr. McMarty, arrived in Acapulco, [[HMS Comus (1878)|HMS ''Comus'']] set sail from British Columbia to rescue the sailors.<ref name="Coolgardie Miner-1898" />

In 1947, five American fishermen from San Pedro, California, were rescued from Clipperton after surviving on the island for six weeks.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=30 June 1947 |title=5 Fishermen, Lost May 19 Found on Pacific Island |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123692153/ |work=The Salt Lake Tribune |location=Salt Lake CIty, Utah |volume=155 |issue=77 |pages=1–2 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707145237/https://www.newspapers.com/article/123692153/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In early 1962, the island provided a home to nine crewmen of the sunken tuna clipper MV ''Monarch'', stranded for 23 days from 6 February to 1 March.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |editor1-last=Gius |editor1-first=Julius |date=27 Feb 1962 |title=Lost Ship's Crew Sighted Safe on Isle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123672274/ |work=Ventura County Star |location=Ventura, California |access-date=2023-03-30 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707145320/https://www.newspapers.com/article/123672274/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They reported that the lagoon water was drinkable, although they preferred to drink water from the coconuts they found. Unable to use any of the dilapidated buildings, they constructed a crude shelter from cement bags and tin salvaged from [[Quonset hut]]s built by the American military 20 years earlier. Wood from the huts was used for firewood, and fish caught off the fringing reef combined with potatoes and onions they had saved from their sinking vessel augmented the island's meager supply of coconuts. The crewmen reported they tried eating bird's eggs, but found them to be rancid, and they decided after trying to cook a 'little black bird' that it did not have enough meat to make the effort worthwhile. Pigs had been eradicated, but the crewmen reported seeing their skeletons around the atoll.<ref name="National Academy of Sciences-1962"/> The crewmen were eventually discovered by another fishing boat, and rescued by the U.S. Navy destroyer {{USS|Robison|DDG-12|6}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 October 2005 |title=Robison |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/robison.html |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command|archive-date=28 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428114805/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/robison.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Amateur radio DX-peditions===
Clipperton has long been an attractive destination for [[amateur radio]] groups due to its remoteness, permit requirements, history, and interesting environment.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cain |first=James D. |url=https://archive.org/details/yasmedannyweilco00jame_0 |title=YASME: the Danny Weil and Colvin radio expeditions |date=2003 |publisher=[[American Radio Relay League]] |others=YASME Foundation |isbn=978-0-87259-893-5 |edition=1st |series=No. 290 Radio Amateur's Library |location=Newington, Connecticut, United States of America |pages=165–168 |language=en |oclc=ocm52862391}}</ref> While some radio operation has been part of other visits to the island, major [[DX-pedition]]s have included [[FO0XB Clipperton Island DXpedition|FO0XB (1978)]],<ref name="Sacotte-1978" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Wendland |first=Mike |date=January 14, 1979 |title=Visit to unfriendly Pacific atoll was big ham news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SBS19790114.1.52&srpos=2&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-dxpedition------- |work=San Bernardino Sun |location=San Bernardino |access-date=2023-03-24 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326021936/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SBS19790114.1.52&srpos=2&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-dxpedition------- |url-status=live }}</ref> FO0XX (1985),<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Donham |first=Perry |date=1985 |title=DX Dream |url=https://archive.org/details/73ar-version/73AR_1985/page/n187 |magazine=73 |access-date=2023-12-31}}</ref> FO0CI (1992),<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1991 |title=Bloc Notes De La Radioamateurs |url=https://archive.org/details/MegahertzMagazineNo099Mai1991/page/n17 |access-date=2023-12-31 |magazine=Megahertz Magazine |location=France |language=fr}}</ref> FO0AAA (2000),<ref name="McClenny-2024">{{cite magazine |last=McClenny |first=Bernie |date=January 1, 2024 |editor-last=Schoenfeld |editor-first=Becky |title=FO/C Clipperton Island |magazine=QST |publisher=American Radio Relay League |location=Newington, Connecticut, United States of America |pages=86–87 |language=en-US}}</ref> TX5C (2008),<ref name="McClenny-2024" /> and TX5S (2024).<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://podtail.com/en/podcast/the-dx-mentor/ |title=Episode 17 – Clipperton Island |website=The DX Mentor |host=Bill Salyers |date=August 27, 2023 |time= |access-date=2023-12-31}}</ref><ref name="Duchauchoy-2007">{{cite magazine |last=Duchauchoy |first=Alain |date=2007 |title=Clipperton ou île de la Passion |trans-title=Clipperton or Passion Island |url=https://archive.org/details/MegahertzMagazineNo297Dec2007/page/n47 |access-date=2023-12-31 |magazine=Megahertz Magazine |location=France |language=fr}}</ref>

In March 2014, the Cordell Expedition, organised and led by [[Robert Schmieder]], combined a radio DX-pedition using [[callsign]] TX5K with environmental and scientific investigations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tx5k.org/|title=Clipperton Island|series=2013 Cordell Expedition|website=TX5K.org|access-date=5 March 2022|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331161343/http://www.tx5k.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> The team of 24&nbsp;radio operators made more than 114,000&nbsp;contacts, breaking the previous record of 75,000. The activity included extensive operation in the [[6-meter band]], including [[Earth–Moon–Earth communication]] (EME) or 'moonbounce' contacts.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Shtun |first=Sana |date=2013-05-01 |title=Six Meters and Down |url=https://archive.org/details/TheCanadianAmateur201305 |access-date=2024-09-20 |magazine=The Canadian Amateur |publisher=Radio Amateurs of Canada |page=12 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Collister |first=Lance |date=2013 |editor-last=Lynch |editor-first=Joe |title=Six Meters EME from Clipperton 2013 |url=https://archive.org/details/cqvhfhamradioabo16unse |access-date=2024-09-20 |magazine=CQ VHF Ham Radio Above 50 MHz |pages=8–10}}</ref> A notable accomplishment was the use of DXA, a real-time satellite-based online graphic radio log web page, allowing anyone with a browser to see the radio activity. Scientific work conducted during the expedition included the first collection and identification of [[foraminifera]] and extensive aerial imaging of the island using kite-borne cameras. The team included two scientists from the [[University of Tahiti]] and a French TV documentary crew from [[Thalassa (TV series)|''Thalassa'']].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schmieder|first=Robert W.|date=15 June 2013|title=Report of the Expedition Leader|url=http://Cordell.org/CI/CI_Documents/TX5K_Project_Report_1.0.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://Cordell.org/CI/CI_Documents/TX5K_Project_Report_1.0.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|series=The 2013 Cordell Expedition to Clipperton Island|website=Cordell.org|access-date=11 January 2018}}</ref>

In April 2015, Alain Duchauchoy, F6BFH, operated from Clipperton using callsign TX5P as part of the Passion 2015 scientific expedition to Clipperton Island. Duchauchoy also researched Mexican use of the island during the early 1900s as part of the expedition.<ref name="Duchauchoy-2007" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 April 2015 |title=TX5P – Clipperton Island – Passion 2015 – News |url=https://dxnews.com/tx5p-clipperton/ |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=dxnews.com|archive-date=15 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815000405/https://dxnews.com/tx5p-clipperton/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Uninhabited island]]
* [[Lists of islands]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

===References===
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Clipperton Island|Clipperton Island}}
* {{Wikiatlas|Clipperton Island}}
* [https://www.Navegar-es-preciso.com/news/clipperton-o-los-naufragos-mexicanos-1908-1917/ Isla Clipperton o 'Los náufragos mexicanos − 1914/1917'] ''[Clipperton or 'The Mexican Castaways – 1914/1917']'' {{In lang|es}}

===Photo galleries===
* [http://Diver.net/chris/2007.04.10-25/ The first dive trip to Clipperton Island aboard the Nautilus Explorer] – pictures taken during a 2007 visit
* [https://www.Flickr.com/photos/va7dx/sets/72157604221433086/ Clipperton Island 2008] – Flickr gallery containing 94 large photos from a 2008 visit
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100602074844/http://3D-Photography.com/Clipperton_Island/ 3D photos of Clipperton Island 2010] – 3D anaglyphs

===Visits and expeditions===
* [http://www.QSL.net/clipperton2000/ 2000 DXpedition to Clipperton Island] – website of a visit by amateur radio enthusiasts in 2000
* [http://www.NautilusExplorer.com/clipperton_de.htm Diving trips to Clipperton atoll] – from NautilusExplorer.com

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