Christmas Island is an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. It lies about 1,650 miles (2,650 kilometers) northwest of Perth, Australia, and about 300 miles (480 kilometers) south of Jakarta, Indonesia. Christmas Island is about 12 miles (20 kilometers) long and about 9 miles (15 kilometers) wide. The island’s main industry is phosphate mining. Most of its people are Australians of Chinese or Malay heritage. 
Each year, millions of Christmas Island red crabs migrate from the island’s rain forest to the ocean to breed. The male crabs travel first and dig burrows near the shore. After mating, the female crabs emerge from the burrows at night to lay their eggs in the water. This spectacular red crab migration usually occurs between October and December and can last as long as 18 days. Ecologists have described it as one of the wonders of the natural world. 
Since the 1990’s, yellow crazy ants have threatened Christmas Island’s crab population. The ants are an invasive species—that is, a kind of living thing that spreads rapidly in a new environment where there are few or no natural controls on its growth. Ocean travelers unintentionally carried the ants to Christmas Island in the 1900’s. The ants have caused serious environmental damage to the island. In 2016, Australian scientists introduced a certain species of wasp to Christmas Island to reduce the yellow crazy ant population.
Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company sighted and named the island on Christmas Day in 1643. The United Kingdom took control of the island in 1888. Phosphate mining began there in 1897. The island became a territory of Australia on Oct. 1, 1958. People on the island celebrate this date annually as Territory Day.
The Australian government opened an immigration detention facility on the island in the early 2000’s. The facility served as a processing center for many people seeking political asylum (shelter and protection) in Australia. Later, it was used to detain noncitizens of Australia who were being deported for committing crimes in Australia.
