Tula is a village in the
Eastern District of
Tutuila Island in
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
. Tula is located in
Vaifanua County and had a population of 405 as of the
2010 U.S. Census.
Tula is located on Cape Matātula. It is the site of the former upland ridge settlement of
Lefutu (AS-21-002).
Geography
Tula is the easternmost village on Tutuila Island, and is situated on the rugged northeast cape of Matātula. It is home to wide, white sand beaches and a prehistoric
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...
. The
Samoa Observatory, established in 1974 by
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
(NOAA), sits on Cape Matātula just outside the village of Tula.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
's Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) measures more than 40
trace gases
Trace gases are gases that are present in small amounts within an environment such as a planet's atmosphere. Trace gases in Earth's atmosphere are gases other than nitrogen (78.1%), oxygen (20.9%), and argon (0.934%) which, in combination, make ...
involved in stratospheric
ozone depletion
Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth's atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone (the ozone lay ...
,
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, and
air quality
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
at the observatory.
Cape Matā'ula and the nearby village of Onenoa feature small plantations, high cliffs, and forested slopes.
Demographics
History
Tula was one of the first settlements on Tutuila, having been settled by 600 BCE. Numerous ancient artifacts have been discovered at the prehistoric quarry near the town.
[Murrow, Tony and Malama Meleisea (2000). ''Samoa: Pacific Pride''. Pasifika Press. Page 42. .]
References
{{American Samoa, state=collapsed
Populated places in American Samoa
Villages in American Samoa
Tutuila