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2 July 1937
Lae, Lae District, Papua New Guinea
Lae was the last confirmed stop on Earhart's world flight. She and Fred Noonan departed from here after the aircraft had been repaired and refueled for the final Pacific crossing. The takeoff from this airfield is the last point in the record that places Earhart safely on land before the long, fragile navigation leg toward Howland Island.
6.7302°S · 147.0008°E
2 July 1937
Howland Island, United States
Howland Island was the intended landing point, and the aircraft carrier of the story's last confirmed radio messages. Earhart reported that she was on the island's bearing but could not see it and that fuel was running low. The immediate search effort centered on the island and the sea around it, making Howland both the destination and the place where the disappearance became a search problem.
0.8076°N · 176.6176°W
later search site
Nikumaroro, Kiribati
Nikumaroro became one of the best-known later search hypotheses after Earhart vanished. Expeditions and theories focused on whether the aircraft or crew could have ended up on or near the island after the Howland attempt failed. This point is not a claim of proof. It marks where the public search record widened beyond the last radio trail and into the afterlife of the mystery.
4.6756°S · 174.5374°W