250px, The location of Guam

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to

– organized, unincorporated territory of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

that comprises the island of Guam in the western

North Pacific Ocean North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government."USDOI Office of Insular Affairs"
''U.S. Territories'', Retrieved November 4, 2007. The island's capital is Hagåtña (formerly Agana). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

. The

Chamorros The Chamorro people (; also CHamoru) are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, signif ...

, Guam's indigenous inhabitants, first populated the island approximately 4,000 years ago. Discovered by the Spanish expedition of

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the Eas ...

in 1521, the island has a long history of

European colonialism The historical phenomenon of colonization is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Turks, and the Arabs. Colonialism in the modern sense began ...

beginning in the 16th century, and especially in 1668 with the arrival of Spanish settlers including Padre San Vitores, a Catholic

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

. Guam and the rest of the

were integrated in the

Spanish East Indies The Spanish East Indies ( es , Indias orientales españolas ; fil, Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya) were the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire in Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1898, governed for the Spanish Crown from Mexico City and Madri ...

since 1565. The island was a major stopover for

Manila Galleons 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) ...

sailing from Acapulco, until 1815. Guam was taken over from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

in 1898. As the largest island 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 only American-held island in the region before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Guam was occupied by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese between December 1941 and July 1944. Today, Guam's economy is mainly supported by

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

(primarily from

) and U.S. military bases.

General reference

* Pronunciation: * Common English country name:

* Official English country name: The

Territory of Guam * Common

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

(s):

List of countries and capitals in native languages The following chart lists countries and dependencies along with their capital cities, in English as well as any additional official language(s). * In bold: Internationally recognized sovereign states ** The 193 member states of the United Natio ...

* Official endonym(s):

List of official endonyms of present-day nations and states The following chart lists countries and dependencies along with their capital cities, in English as well as any additional official language(s). * In bold: Internationally recognized sovereign states ** The 193 member states of the United Natio ...

* Adjectival(s): Guamanian *

Demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

(s): *

Etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

: Name of Guam *

ISO country codes ISO 3166-1 (''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 1: Country codes'') is a standard defining codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. It ...

: GU, GUM, 316 *

ISO region codes ISO 3166-2 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for identifying the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1. The ...

: See ISO 3166-2:GU *

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all ...

.gu .gu is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost poin ...

Geography of Guam

Geography of Guam * Guam is: a United States territory * Location: **

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

and

Eastern Hemisphere The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth which is east of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and west of the antimeridian (which crosses the Pacific Ocean and relatively little land from pole ...

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 conti ...

*** North Pacific ****

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

*****

Time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it ...

: Chamorro Standard Time (

UTC+10 UTC+10:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +10:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Port Moresby, Dededo, Saipan'' North Asia *Russia – ...

) ** Extreme points of Guam *** High: Mount Lamlam – 11,377 meters above

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 ...

*** Low:

0 m ** Land boundaries: ''none'' ** Coastline: * Population of Guam: 173,000 – 179th most populous country * * Area of Guam: * Atlas of Guam

Environment of Guam

* Climate of Guam * Renewable energy in Guam * Geology of Guam * Protected areas of Guam ** Biosphere reserves in Guam ** National parks of Guam * Superfund sites in Guam * Wildlife of Guam ** Fauna of Guam *** Birds of Guam *** Mammals of Guam

Natural geographic features of Guam

* Beaches in Guam * Islands of Guam * Lakes of Guam * Mountains of Guam ** Volcanoes in Guam *

Rivers of Guam This is a list of rivers in Guam, a (U.S. territory) in the western Pacific Ocean. The list is arranged alphabetically by the name of the river. * Agaga River * Agfayan River * Aguada River * Ajayan River * Alatgue River * Almagosa River *Aplac ...

** Waterfalls of Guam * Valleys of Guam * World Heritage Sites in Guam: None

Regions of Guam

* Regions of Guam

Ecoregions of Guam

* List of ecoregions in Guam

Administrative divisions of Guam

None

=Municipalities of Guam

= *

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of Guam: Hagåtña * Cities of Guam

Demography of Guam

* Demographics of Guam

Government and politics of Guam

Politics of Guam Guam is a two-party presidential representative democracy, in which the Governor is the head of government. Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States, with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jur ...

Form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

: presidential

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

of Guam: Hagåtña * Elections in Guam *

Political parties in Guam Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

Branches of the government of Guam

Government of Guam The Government of Guam (GovGuam) is a presidential representative democratic system, whereby the President is the head of state and the Governor is head of government, and of a multi-party system. Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory ...

Executive branch of the government of Guam

Head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

: President of United States *

Head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( ch, I Maga'låhen / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territor ...

* Cabinet of Guam

Legislative branch of the government of Guam

Legislature of Guam The Legislature of Guam ( ch, Liheslaturan Guåhan) is the law-making body for the United States territory of Guam. The unicameral legislative branch consists of fifteen senators, each serving for a two-year term. All members of the legislature a ...

(

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

)

Judicial branch of the government of Guam

Court system of Guam *

Supreme Court of Guam The Supreme Court of Guam is the highest judicial body of the United States territory of Guam. The Court hears all appeals from the Superior Court of Guam and exercises original jurisdiction only in cases where a certified question is submitted ...

Foreign relations of Guam

* Diplomatic missions in Guam

International organization membership

The United States Territory of Guam is a member of: *

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC) * Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) *

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to ...

(UPU)

Law and order in Guam

Law of Guam * Cannabis in Guam * Constitution of Guam * Crime in Guam * Human rights in Guam ** LGBT rights in Guam ** Freedom of religion in Guam * Law enforcement in Guam

Local government in Guam

History of Guam

History of Guam The history of Guam starts with the early arrival around 2000 BC of Austronesian people known today as the Chamorro Peoples. The CHamorus then developed a "pre-contact" society, that was colonized by the Spanish in the 17th century. The present ...

* Timeline of the history of Guam * Current events of Guam

History of Guam, by period

* Geology of Guam *

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

Chamorro people The Chamorro people (; also CHamoru) are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, sign ...

* First European contact, 1521–1668 ***On March 6, 1521, three Spanish ships under the command of Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan) land on the Island of Guam after a seemingly endless eleven week voyage across the

. Magalhães names the archipelago '' Las Isles de las Velas Latinas'' (The Islands of the Latine Sails). When the Spaniards refuse to pay for supplies, natives take iron from the ships. Magalhães renames the archipelago '' Las Islas de los Ladrones'' (The Islands of the Thieves). *

, 1565–(1668–1898)–1899 **

Diego Luis de San Vitores Diego Luis de San Vitores, SJ (November 12, 1627 – April 2, 1672) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary who founded the first Catholic church on the island of Guam. He is responsible for establishing the Christian presence in the Mariana Islands. ...

leads the colonization of Guam, renaming the Chamorro archipelago '' Islas Marianas'' in honor of his patroness, Queen

Mariana of Austria Mariana of Austria ( es, Mariana de Austria) or Maria Anna (24 December 163416 May 1696) was Queen of Spain as the second wife of her uncle Philip IV of Spain from their marriage in 1649 until Philip died in 1665. She was then appointed regent fo ...

**The Spanish-Chamorro Wars (1670-1683 on Guam) pacifies CHamoru resistance and solidifies Spanish control **Guam becomes a major stopover for Spanish galleons en route to Manila, from

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has ...

. A number of coastal forts are built to protect these ships, including Fort Soledad and Fort San Jose in Umatac. *

, April 23 – August 12, 1898 **

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

declares war on the

, April 23, 1898 **

capture of Guam, June 20–21, 1898 ** Treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898 *

Territory of Guam, since December 10, 1898 **

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, June 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918 ***

enters Great War on April 6, 1917 **

, September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945 ***

enters Second World War on December 8, 1941 *** Battle of Guam of 1941 *** Battle of Guam of 1944 **

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, March 5, 1946 – December 25, 1991 **

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953 ** Guam Organic Act, August 1, 1950

Culture of Guam

Culture of Guam * Architecture of Guam * Cuisine of Guam * Festivals in Guam *

Languages of Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

* Media in Guam * National symbols of Guam **

Coat of arms of Guam The Seal of Guam appears in the middle of the Flag of the United States territory of Guam. It depicts Agaña Bay near Hagåtña, a local proa and a palm tree. Charles Alan Pownall approved the seal in 1946. It depicts a coconut palm on the shor ...

** Flag of Guam ** National anthem of Guam * People of Guam * Public holidays in Guam * Records of Guam * Religion in Guam ** Christianity in Guam ** Hinduism in Guam ** Islam in Guam ** Judaism in Guam ** Sikhism in Guam * World Heritage Sites in Guam: None

Art in Guam

* Art in Guam * Literature of Guam * Music of Guam * Television in Guam * Theatre in Guam

Sports in Guam

Sports in Guam *

Football in Guam The sport of association football in the United States territory of Guam is run by the Guam Football Association The Guam Football Association is the governing body of association football in the United States territory of Guam. Association sta ...

* Guam at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Guam

Economy of Guam * Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 150th (one hundred and fiftieth) * Agriculture in Guam * Banking in Guam ** National Bank of Guam * Communications in Guam ** Internet in Guam *

Companies of Guam A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared g ...

* Currency of Guam:

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...

ISO 4217 ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual ...

: USD * Energy in Guam ** Energy policy of Guam ** Oil industry in Guam * Mining in Guam * Tourism in Guam * Guam Stock Exchange

Infrastructure of Guam

* Health care in Guam * Transportation in Guam **

Airports in Guam The United States territory of Guam has no railways or freeways, nor does it have a merchant marine. The largest port is Apra Harbor, which serves almost all commercial traffic including cruise, cargo and fishing vessels. There are smaller harbo ...

** Rail transport in Guam ** Roads in Guam *** Highways in Guam

Education in Guam

* Education in Guam **

Schools in Guam A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

** Colleges and universities in Guam

References

External links

; Government
Official Portal for the Island of Guam

Office of the Governor

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Delegate, U.S. Congress

Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency

Guam Election Commission

Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation

Guam's Original Webpage
; Invasive species

(info from the&nbs
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER)

Brown tree snake (''Boiga irregularis'') information
from the&nbs
Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR)
; News
Marianas Variety "Guam's only true independent news source"

''Pacific Daily News'', A Gannett Newspaper

''KUAM'', Guam's Primary News Channel"Pacific News Center - News You Can Trust
; Overviews
''allthingsguam''
A Guam History resource—virtual textbook, virtual workbook and more
Guampedia, Guam's Online Encyclopedia
*

''The World Factbook'' on Guam

Guam Connection
– Guam directory and internet portal. ; Military
Commander, Naval Forces Marianas (COMNAVMAR) Guam

Andersen Air Force Base (AAFB) Guam

; Tourism
Guam Visitors Bureau

Guam Portal
; Others
Guam Chamber of Commerce

National Weather Service - Guam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guam