Rainmaker Mountain (also known as Mount Pioa) is the name of a mountain located near

Pago Pago, American Samoa Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

Tutuila Island Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa (and its largest), and is part of the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Au ...

. Rainmaker Mountain traps rain clouds and gives Pago Pago the highest annual rainfall of any harbor. The average annual rainfall on the mountain is around 200 inches (5 m). It has a three-pronged summit. Rainmaker Mountain and its base were designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

in 1972 due to the slopes’ tropical vegetation. Rainmaker Mountain is one of several giant volcanic mountains that created Tutuila Island. It dominates the scene from nearly every point in

Pago Pago Harbor Pago Pago Harbor on Tutuila Island in American Samoa is one of the world's largest natural harbors. The capital, Pago Pago is located on the inner reaches of the harbor, close to its northwesternmost point. It has the highest annual rainfall of ...

. It comprises three mountain peaks: North Pioa, South Pioa, and Sinapioa. The peaks range in elevation from 1,619 to 1,718 feet. The 170-acre designated landmark area occurs above the 800-foot contour line. Several endemic species are only present here and on

Matafao Peak Matafao Peak (Samoan: Fa’asi’usi’uga o Matafao) is a mountain in American Samoa, on the island of Tutuila. With an elevation of 653 meters (2,142 ft), it is the highest peak on Tutuila Island. The mountain, like Rainmaker Mountain acros ...

, the highest point on Tutuila. Rainmaker Mountain, famous in Samoan legend and lore, is also geologically important as an example of a volcanic plug (quartz trachyte). The upper slopes are

montane rainforest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

and the crest is montane scrub. The_Rainmaker_from_near_the_former_Rainmaker_Hotel_-_panoramio

The mountain is a volcanic feature known as a

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and al ...

plug, a volcanic intrusion made of extrusive

igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...

s having alkali feldspar and minor mafic minerals as the main components and a fine-grained, generally

porphyritic Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning all ...

texture. A closeup of the mountain is visible up Rainmaker Pass.

Rainmaker Hotel Rainmaker Hotel was a 250-room luxury hotel in Utulei, American Samoa, Utulei, Pago Pago, American Samoa. It was the only proper hotel in American Samoa and was operated by the government. The hotel was at its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, when it w ...

was a hotel at the port entrance under the mountain.Fodor's Travel Guides (1991). ''Fodor’s South Pacific''. Fodor's Travel Publications. Page 88.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20061005005025/http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/npsa/index.cfm

External links

National Park Service site for Rainmaker Mountain
Mountains of American Samoa Tutuila National Natural Landmarks in American Samoa Volcanoes of American Samoa Volcanic plugs of the United States {{AmericanSamoa-geo-stub

See also

References

External links