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While the environment of Salar de Coipasa is arid, it does receive constant water from the Lauca River flowing in from the north. The Lauca feeds Lake (Lago) Coipasa, which covers the northern end of the basin with shallow water. However, the water flow can drop off sharply during periods of drought.
The waters of Lake Coipasa, and the white salt crust of the salar, also serve to highlight dark river sediments flowing into the basin along the northeastern shore. Dark volcanic rocks contrast sharply with the surrounding salt crust at image left. While the western Andes mountains contain many active volcanoes, the nearby Tata Sabaya volcano (not shown) has not been historically active.
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Wake Island was annexed by the United States of America in 1899, and it became an important military and commercial airfield by 1935. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the mutual declaration of war between the U.S. and the Empire of Japan in 1941, the atoll was occupied by Japanese forces until the end of World War II in the Pacific (1945). Today, the civil administration of the atoll is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of the Interior, while the U.S. Air Force and Army maintain military facilities and operations (including an airfield and large ship anchorages). With the exception of direct support to missions—and potentially, emergency airplane landings—there are no commercial or civilian flights to Wake Island.
In 2006, Wake Island was in the path of Super Typhoon Ioke. Given the danger, the entire civilian and military population was evacuated. While some damage to buildings and facilities occurred as a result of the storm, a U.S. Air Force repair team subsequently restored full capabilities for strategic use of the atoll.
