southernmost coral island in the Southern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 400 miles (640 km) northwest of Tahiti. With a land area of 1 square mile (3 square km) in an elongated diamond shape about 2.5 miles by 0.5 mile (4 km by 0.8 km), the formation rises to a level height of 22 feet (7 metres) and contains several brackish lagoons. The well-wooded atoll once produced guano and, more recently, copra. Sighted by Europeans in 1801, it was claimed by the United States in 1856 under the Guano Act. Coconut palms (for copra) were planted in the 1870s and soon replaced most of the native flora. The export of guano ended by 1893. Flint Island became a part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in 1972 and was included in independent Kiribati in 1979. There are no permanent inhabitants.