Guam is a
U.S. territory
In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...
in the western
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
, at the boundary of the
Philippine Sea. It is the southernmost and largest member of the
Mariana Islands archipelago, which is itself the northernmost group of islands in
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
. The closest political entity is the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
(CNMI), another U.S. territory. Guam shares
maritime boundaries
A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Bound ...
with CNMI to the north and the
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...
to the south. It is located approximately one quarter of the way from the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. Its location and size make it strategically important. It is the only island with both
a protected harbor and land for multiple airports between
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and Hawaii, on an east–west axis, and between
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
and
Japan, on a north–south axis.
The island is a
result of the volcanic activity created by subduction of the
Pacific Plate under the
Philippine Sea Plate
The Philippine Sea Plate or the Philippine Plate is a tectonic plate comprising oceanic lithosphere that lies beneath the Philippine Sea, to the east of the Philippines. Most segments of the Philippines, including northern Luzon, are part o ...
at the nearby
Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...
, which runs from the east of Guam to the southwest. Volcanic eruptions established the base of the island in the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
, roughly 56 to 33.9
million years ago
The abbreviation Myr, "million years", is a unit of a quantity of (i.e. ) years, or 31.556926 teraseconds.
Usage
Myr (million years) is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used with Mya (million years ago) ...
(mya). The north of Guam is a result of this base being covered with layers of
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
C ...
, turning into
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, and then being thrust by tectonic activity to create a plateau. The rugged south of the island is a result of more recent volcanic activity.
Cocos Island
Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarena ...
off the southern tip of Guam is the largest of the many small
islet
An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...
s along the coastline.
Politically, Guam is divided into
19 villages. The majority of the population lives on the coralline limestone plateaus of the north, with political and economic activity centered in the central and northern regions. The rugged geography of the south largely limits settlement to rural coastal areas. The western coast is
leeward of the
trade winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...
and is the location of
Apra Harbor, the capitol
Hagåtña, and the tourist center of
Tumon
Tumon ( ch, Tomhom) is a district located on Tumon Bay along the northwest coast of the United States unincorporated territory of Guam. Located in the municipality of Tamuning, it is the center of Guam's tourist industry.
History
Tumon Bay or ...
. The
U.S. Defense Department owns about 29% of the island,
under the management of
Joint Region Marianas
Joint Region Marianas' mission is to provide installation management support
to all Department of Defense components and tenants through assigned
regional installations on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in support
of training in the Mariana ...
.
Geology
The
Mariana Islands lie atop the largely submerged East Mariana Ridge, a part of the
Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) Arc. The IBM Arc is a
tectonic plate
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large te ...
convergent boundary
A convergent boundary (also known as a destructive boundary) is an area on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction. The subduction zone can be defined by a ...
where the west
Pacific Plate subducts the
Philippine Sea Plate
The Philippine Sea Plate or the Philippine Plate is a tectonic plate comprising oceanic lithosphere that lies beneath the Philippine Sea, to the east of the Philippines. Most segments of the Philippines, including northern Luzon, are part o ...
. Guam is actually located on the
Mariana Plate, a micro plate between the two. The subduction area is marked by the
Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...
, the deepest gash in the earth's surface, which includes three deep spots to the south of Guam. From east to west, these are:
Nero Deep, which was the deepest known spot in the ocean from 1899 to 1927 at ;
Sirena Deep
The Sirena Deep, originally named the HMRG Deep, was discovered in 1997 by a team of scientists from Hawaii. Its directly measured depth of is third only to the Challenger Deep and Horizon Deep, currently the deepest known directly measured ...
, the third deepest measured point at ; and
Challenger Deep
The Challenger Deep is the deepest-known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathym ...
, the deepest point at .
There have been three major eruptions on Guam. the first, the Facpi formation, in the mid
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
, laid the base of the island and is still the topmost formation along the southwestern coast. The second eruption created the Alutom formation that is still the topmost strata in the middle of the island. The
Mount Alifan
Mount Alifan is a peak on the U.S. island territory of Guam. It is located in Agat on the south-west of the island. Alifan is the highest point overseeing Agat Bay and was the site of fierce fighting during the 1944 U.S. invasion of Guam after fo ...
-
Mount Lamlam
Mount Lamlam (meaning ''lightning'' in Chamoru) is a peak on the United States island of Guam. It is located near the village of Agat ( north), in the south-west of the island.
Rising to above sea level, the distance from the peak to the bottom ...
ridge is the remnant of the Alutom formation
caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
.
The last volcanic layer, called the Umatac formation, was formed by the third and final eruption, which surrounded this ridge in the south of Guam. Meanwhile, volcanic activity alternately submerged areas of the island, which hosted
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
C ...
s, and then lifted those reefs, which became
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. The island may be divided into four general geophysical regions: the uplifted and relatively flat
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...
line
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
plateau in the north that provides most of the drinking water; the low-rising hills of the Alutom Formation in the center; the mountains of the Umatac formation in the south; and the coastal lowlands ringing most of the island. Much of the coast is protected by a
fringing reef
A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reef. It is distinguished from the other main types, barrier reefs and atolls, in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone (lagoon) or none at all. If a fringing reef grows direc ...
.
Soils are mostly silty clay or clay and may be gray, black, brown or reddish brown; acidity and depth vary. There are four
National Natural Landmarks in Guam
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
chosen as exemplars of the island's geology:
Facpi Point
Facpi Point is a headland in the south-west of the island of Guam. It is due west of Mount Lamlam, and north of Umatac village. The point was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972. Facpi Point marks the southern end of Agat Bay, as wel ...
,
Fouha Point,
Mount Lamlam
Mount Lamlam (meaning ''lightning'' in Chamoru) is a peak on the United States island of Guam. It is located near the village of Agat ( north), in the south-west of the island.
Rising to above sea level, the distance from the peak to the bottom ...
, and
Two Lovers Point
Two Lovers Point (Chamorro: Puntan Dos Amåntes) is prominent cape and seaside cliff in Tamuning, Guam, that overlooks northern Tumon Bay and the Philippine Sea. One of four National Natural Landmarks on Guam, it is closely associated with the f ...
.
Earthquakes
Guam occasionally experiences earthquakes; most with epicenters near Guam have had magnitudes ranging from 5.0 to 8.7. Unlike
Anatahan
Anatahan is an island in the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and has one of the most active volcanoes of the archipelago. Although formerly inhabited, the island is currently uninhabited due to the constant danger of volcanic er ...
in the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
, Guam is not volcanically active, though
vog (volcanic smog) from Anatahan affects it due to proximity.
["Home page of the Anahatan volcano". ''USGS-CNMI'', November 8, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from ]
Strategic position
Guam is about from both
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
in the north and
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
in the west, and about from
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
in the east.
Guam's size and possession of a natural safe anchorage at
Apra Harbor, uniquely among its neighbors, have driven much of its history.
Guam was a minor but integral part of the Spanish
Manila galleon
fil, Galyon ng Maynila
, english_name = Manila Galleon
, duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years)
, venue = Between Manila and Acapulco
, location = New Spain (Spanish Empire ...
trade. Located on the east-to-west
trade winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...
, galleons from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
would briefly reprovision on Guam before continuing on to
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
. The
westerlies
The westerlies, anti-trades, or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes and trend t ...
are well away from Guam so it was not a stop on the return trip. During the height of Pacific
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industr ...
, Apra Harbor was a major stop for whalers. After the American
capture of Guam
The Capture of Guam was a bloodless engagement between the United States and Spain during the Spanish–American War. The U.S. Navy sent a single cruiser, , to capture the island of Guam, then under Spanish control. However, the Spanish garri ...
in 1898, the
Commercial Pacific Cable Company
Commercial Pacific Cable Company was founded in 1901, and ceased operations in October 1951. It provided the first direct telegraph route from America to the Philippines, China, and Japan.
The company was established as a joint venture of three c ...
laid
submarine communications cable for
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
through
Guam Cable Station
The Guam Cable Station is where the United States territory of Guam was first connected via modern telecommunications to the rest of the world. Reduced to ruins by the fighting of World War II, the ruins of the establishment remain on the grounds ...
, linking the United States to Asia for the first time.
Guam continues to be
a major submarine cable hub in the western Pacific. In 1935,
Pan American Airways
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
made
Sumay, Guam
Sumay, also Sumai, was a village on the United States territory of Guam. It was located on the north coast of the Orote Peninsula along Apra Harbor. It was inhabited by Chamorro people before contact with Europeans. Sumay became a prosperous port ...
, a base for its ''
China Clipper
''China Clipper'' (NC14716) was the first of three Martin M-130 four-engine flying boats built for Pan American Airways and was used to inaugurate the first commercial transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila on November 22, 193 ...
'', the first trans-Pacific air cargo service, flying from
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
to
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, arrived at Sumay on November 27, 1935 and the first passenger service flight on October 21, 1936.
The
Japanese capture of Guam in 1941 and subsequent
American liberation in 1944 were driven by a recognition of Guam's strategic location in a Pacific War. Military facilities on Guam, including
Naval Base Guam
Naval Base Guam is a strategic U.S. naval base located on Apra Harbor and occupying the Orote Peninsula. In 2009, it was combined with Andersen Air Force Base to form Joint Region Marianas, which is a Navy-controlled joint base.
The Ship Repa ...
and
Andersen Air Force Base, are considered critical forward deployment bases in the Asia-Pacific. Guam was a support center for the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
(1949-1953) and became even more important during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, when the bombing campaigns
Operation Arc Light
During Operation Arc Light (sometimes Arclight) from 1965 to 1973, the United States Air Force deployed B-52 Stratofortresses from bases in the U.S. Territory of Guam to provide battlefield air interdiction during the Vietnam War. This included ...
(1965-1973) and
Operation Linebacker II
Operation Linebacker II was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by U.S. Seventh Air Force, Strategic Air Command and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ( North Vietnam) during the final period of ...
(1972) were flown out of Andersen Air Force Base. Guam was similarly the site of
Operation New Life
Operation New Life (23 April – 1 November 1975) was the care and processing on Guam of Vietnamese refugees evacuated before and after the Fall of Saigon, the closing day of the Vietnam War. More than 111,000 of the evacuated 130,000 Vietna ...
, the processing of Vietnamese
refugees after the
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, t ...
in 1975.
Guam is a linchpin of the "Second Island Chain" in the
Island Chain Strategy
The Island chain strategy is a strategic maritime containment plan first conceived by American foreign policy statesman John Foster Dulles in 1951, during the Korean War. It proposed surrounding the Soviet Union and China with naval bases in t ...
first described by the U.S. during the Korean War, but which has become an increasing focus of
Chinese foreign policy
The People's Republic of China is a Communist state that came to power in 1949 after a civil war. After the Korean war in 1950-1953 and the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, China emerged as a great power and one of the three big players in the ...
. In 2016, China deployed the
DF-26 __NoTOC__
The Dong Feng-26 (DF-26, ) is an intermediate-range ballistic missile deployed by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force and produced by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
Chinese sources claim the DF-26 ...
, their first
intermediate-range ballistic missile with the range to hit Guam; Chinese media wonks and military experts dubbed it the "Guam Killer."
Settlement patterns
A 1668 description reported that there were approximately 180
CHamoru
Chamorro (; ch, Finuʼ Chamorro, links=no (CNMI), (Guam)) is an Austronesian language spoken by about 58,000 people (about 25,800 people on Guam and about 32,200 in the rest of the Mariana Islands and elsewhere). It is the native and spoken ...
villages on Guam with a total island population between 35,000 and 50,000.
However, the Spanish strategy of
villagization
Villagization (sometimes also spelled ''villagisation'') is the (usually compulsory) resettlement of people into designated villages by government or military authorities.
Villagization may be used as a tactic by a government or military power to ...
, called ''reducción'', which began in the
Spanish-Chamorro Wars, transferred the population to seven towns. These relocated people were forced to travel to work on distant farms and ranches, creating the ''lanchu'' system of farmsteading, which was to become a traditional part of CHamoru society well into the twentieth century.
Still, a map of the early 1700s shows nearly 40 villages on Guam, mostly along the coastlines. However, the Spanish eventually emptied all of the northern and central villages of Guam, except for
Hagåtña. The population of Guam and the entire Northern Marianas, except for
Rota, was moved to Hagåtña, and five southern villages:
Agat,
Inarajan,
Merizo
Malesso' (formerly Merizo) is the southernmost village in the United States territory of Guam. Cocos Island (Chamorro: Islan Dåno) is a part of the municipality. The village's population has decreased since the island's 2010 census.
Malesso' is ...
,
Pago (which no longer exists), and
Umatac.
Meanwhile, outbreaks of
infectious disease
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...
inflicted a terrible toll, which was accelerated by concentrating the population. The Chamoru population in 1689 was estimated at about 10,000, a third to fifth of number just 20 years previously.
The population changed little over the next two centuries. The population in 1901, after the American
Capture of Guam
The Capture of Guam was a bloodless engagement between the United States and Spain during the Spanish–American War. The U.S. Navy sent a single cruiser, , to capture the island of Guam, then under Spanish control. However, the Spanish garri ...
, was 9,676, with the majority located in Hagåtña and
Sumay on Apra Harbor. The population increased to 18,509 in 1930. The American Naval government build roads and schools in outlying areas in order to urge the population to spend time on their ranch lands and produce more agricultural products. There were eight municipalities approved by the Naval governor in the 1920s, Hagåtña, Agat,
Asan
Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000.
Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas.
Asan has grown into th ...
, Inarajan, Merizo,
Piti
Piti may refer to:
* Pīti, a mental factor in Buddhism
* PITI, the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance sum of a mortgage payment
* Piti (food), a soup dish of Central Asia
* Piti (footballer) (born 1981), Spanish footballer
* Piti, Guam
* Pi ...
, Sumay and
Yona
The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for " Ionians" ( grc, ...
, increasing to 15 in 1939.
The devastation of the
U.S. retaking of Guam in 1941 and subsequent mass military build-up of installations at the end of the
Pacific War transformed the island's settlements. Two municipalities that disappeared entirely after the land became military bases were
Machanao in the north and Sumay on Apra Harbor, which is now part of
Naval Base Guam
Naval Base Guam is a strategic U.S. naval base located on Apra Harbor and occupying the Orote Peninsula. In 2009, it was combined with Andersen Air Force Base to form Joint Region Marianas, which is a Navy-controlled joint base.
The Ship Repa ...
. The military government prohibited resettlement and rebuilding of Hagåtña, which held almost half of the pre-war population. The former residents of Hagåtña dispersed, mainly to their ''lanchus'' (ranches).
Once most of the wartime bases, northern Guam experienced sustained housing construction. The original location of
Dededo
Dededo ( ch, Dedidu; formerly in Spanish: , in Japanese: , ''Dededo'') is the most populated village in the United States territory of Guam. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dededo's population was just under 45,000 in 2020. The village is loca ...
was bulldozed by the Americans to create
Harmon Air Force Base
Harmon Air Force Base is a former World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield, and postwar United States Air Force Base on Guam in the Mariana Islands. Originally named "Depot Field", it was renamed in honor of Lieutenant General Millard ...
. However, when the new location was devastated by
Typhoon Karen
Typhoon Karen was the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike the island of Guam, and has been regarded as one of the most destructive events in the island's history. It was first identified as a tropical disturbance on November 6, 1962, ...
in 1962 and
Typhoon Olive in 1963, the resulting federal aid sparked a construction boom that then resulted in the first large housing subdivisions. Meanwhile, the neighboring municipality of
Yigo
Yigo, Guam ( ch, Yigu; pronounced ) is the northernmost village of the United States territory of Guam, and is the location of Andersen Air Force Base. The municipality of Yigo is the largest village on the island in terms of area. It contains a n ...
on the northeast of the island has also experienced dramatic population growth. In 1940, there were about 40 families living in the area and it was, by the beginning of the 21st century, Guam's second most populous village after Dededo.
Climate
Guam has a
tropical marine climate
A tropical marine climate is a tropical climate that is primarily influenced by the ocean. It is usually experienced by islands and coastal areas 10° to 20° north and south of the equator. There are two main seasons in a tropical marine climate: ...
that is generally warm and humid, but moderated by northeast
trade winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...
.
Dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...
is from January to June and
wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
is from July to December. There is little temperature variation. There are frequent squalls during wet season.
Typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s are relatively rare but are most common during wet season and are potentially very destructive.
Typhoon Pongsona
Typhoon Pongsona was the last typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season, and was the second costliest United States disaster in 2002, only behind Hurricane Lili. The name "Pongsona" was contributed by North Korea for the Pacific tropical cyclo ...
in 2002 had wind gusts up to 290 km/h (183 mph
1-min) over Guam and caused widespread devastation, but no direct deaths because of strict building standards. Pongsona was the most damaging typhoon on Guam since
Typhoon Paka
Typhoon Paka, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rubing, was the last tropical cyclone of the 1997 Pacific 1997 Pacific hurricane season, hurricane and 1997 Pacific typhoon season, typhoon season, and was among the strongest Pacific typhoons in ...
in 1997.
Environment
The rapid proliferation of the
brown tree snake
The brown tree snake (''Boiga irregularis''), also known as the brown catsnake, is an arboreal rear-fanged colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, eastern Indonesia (Sulawesi to Papua), Papua New Guinea, and many islands ...
(''Boiga irregularis''), an
exotic species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
, caused the
local extinction of the native
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
population, such as the
Guam rail
The Guam rail (''Hypotaenidia owstoni'') is a species of flightless bird, endemic to the United States territory of Guam, where it is known locally as the ''Ko'ko bird. The Guam rail disappeared from southern Guam in the early 1970s and was ext ...
and
Guam kingfisher
The Guam kingfisher (''Todiramphus cinnamominus'') is a species of kingfisher from the United States Territory of Guam. It is restricted to a captive breeding program following its extinction in the wild due primarily to predation by the introd ...
. The island also supports feral populations of introduced
Philippine deer
The Philippine deer (''Rusa marianna''), also known as the Philippine sambar or Philippine brown deer, is a vulnerable deer species endemic to the Philippines. It was first described from introduced populations in the Mariana Islands, hence t ...
(''Rusa marianna''),
pigs
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
(''Sus scrofa''), and
carabao
The carabao ( es, Carabao; tgl, Kalabaw; ceb, Kabaw; ilo, Nuang) is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') native to the Philippines. Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Spanish Philippines in the 17th century. They ...
(''Bubalus bubalis carabanesis'').
Extraction of natural resources for economic gain is based around the sea. This includes
commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
(mostly servicing and unloading of
longline fleets and commercial vessels) and
recreational fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing fo ...
of Indo-Pacific blue marlin (''
Makaira
''Makaira'' (Latin via Greek language, Greek: ''μαχαίρα'' "sword") is a genus of marlin in the family Istiophoridae. It includes the Atlantic blue marlin, Atlantic blue, and Indo-Pacific blue marlin, Indo-Pacific blue marlins. In the past ...
mazara
Mazara del Vallo (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, southwestern Sicily, Italy. It lies mainly on the left bank at the mouth of the Mazaro river.
It is an agricultural and fishing centre and its port gives shelter to the ...
''),
wahoo
Wahoo (''Acanthocybium solandri'') is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh makes it a prized and valued game fish. In Hawaii, the wahoo is kn ...
(''Acanthocybium solandri''),
mahi-mahi
The mahi-mahi () or common dolphinfish (''Coryphaena hippurus'') is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide. Also widely called dorado (not to be confused with ''Salminus brasi ...
(''Coryphaena hippurus''),
yellowfin tuna
The yellowfin tuna (''Thunnus albacares'') is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.
Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian , a name also used there for the closely related bigeye ...
(''Thunnus albacares''), and deepwater reef fish. Tourism from
Japan in particular, but increasingly from
China and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, largely derives from an attractive tropical climate and amenities. A 2012 estimate was that 16.67% of the land area was being used for permanent crops while only 1.85% was considered
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...
suitable for plowing, planting, and reaping. 2 km
2 was irrigated.
Extreme points
The three highest points on Guam are
Mount Lamlam
Mount Lamlam (meaning ''lightning'' in Chamoru) is a peak on the United States island of Guam. It is located near the village of Agat ( north), in the south-west of the island.
Rising to above sea level, the distance from the peak to the bottom ...
at ,
Mount Jumullong Manglo
Mount Jumullong Manglo (sometimes shortened to ''Mount Jumullong'') is a peak in the south-west of the island of the United States territory of Guam.
Rising to above sea level, it is the 2nd highest peak in Guam (after Mount Lamlam
Mount Lamlam ...
at , and
Mount Bolanos
Mount Bolanos is a south-west peak in the United States territory of Guam.
Rising to above sea level, it is the 3rd highest peak in Guam (after Mount Lamlam and Mount Jumullong Manglo, and before Mount Almagosa).
Nearby are located the Bolanos ...
, . Mount Lamlam is sometimes claimed to be the
world's highest mountain at , measured from a base in
Challenger Deep
The Challenger Deep is the deepest-known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathym ...
away. Even if measured from
Sirena Deep
The Sirena Deep, originally named the HMRG Deep, was discovered in 1997 by a team of scientists from Hawaii. Its directly measured depth of is third only to the Challenger Deep and Horizon Deep, currently the deepest known directly measured ...
, away, Mount Lamlam is taller than
Mauna Kea, which is typically cited as the tallest mountain including subsurface rise from the ocean floor at .
The extreme north, east, south, and west locations on mainland Guam are
Ritidian Point
Ritidian Point is the northernmost point of the island of Guam (13° 39′ 2″ N). It is owned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Departmen ...
,
Pati Point
Pati Point is the easternmost point of Guam. It is located in the far north of the island, close to Andersen Air Force Base. A long reef-protected bay lies to the west of Pati Point, separating it from the island's northernmost point, Ritidian Poi ...
,
Aga Point, and
Point Udall, respectively. However,
Cocos Island
Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarena ...
, located off the southern coast of Guam's mainland is the ultimate southernmost point of the territory. Point Udall, previously named Orote Point, is also the
westernpoint point of the U.S., as measured from the
geographic center of the United States
The geographic center of the United States is a point approximately north of Belle Fourche, South Dakota at . It has been regarded as such by the U.S. National Geodetic Survey (NGS) since the additions of Alaska and Hawaii to the United State ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Guam