Fagaitua is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the east of

Tutuila Island Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Pacific Ocean, Central Pacific. It is located roughly north ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

. It is located on the central coast of Fagaitua Bay. It is in Sua County, a county also known as ("the house of the five in the east"). Fagaitua is located at a shallow bay on the south coast of the island, in-between

Lauli'i Lauli'i is a village on the island of Upolu in Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of the island to the east of the capital Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the centra ...

and Alofau. It is home to Luafagā, Le'iato's house of chiefs, and the big malae Malotumau. Coral reefs at Fagaitua suffered significant damage during the 2009 tsunami. Fagaitua is home to the smallest and most rural high school in American Samoa. Fagaitua High School (FHS), whose student body is around 500 as of 2018, practices football at the old rugby field by Pago Pago Bay. It has never had its own field but has utilized the uneven turf at Onesosopo Park, which is replete with volcanic stubble, water, toads, and sand traps. Rob Shaffer was hired as a teacher by Fagaitua in February 1972 and eventually also took over coaching of the high school's football team. Shaffer has played varsity as a quarterback for

Oceanside High School Oceanside High School is an American public secondary school located in Oceanside, California. It is part of the Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD). OUSD on-post properties of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton are assigned to this high sc ...

under head coach Herb Meyer. In 2018, a monument was made for the Fagaitua High School Alumni Association in order to commemorate Fagaitua High School's 50th anniversary. The statue will eventually be mounted onto the pedestal which was designed and constructed by the American Samoa Department of Public Works. It is located in front of Fagaitua High School. The statue depicts a Viking warrior with his head tilted towards the east and the Eastern Star. The statue was made locally on

Etymology

The name of the village, Fagaʻitua, is derived from the Samoan language and translates into English as “Bay behind".

History

In 1892, eastern Tutuila Island was the site of significant conflict among the followers of High Chief Lei’ato. According to local tradition, the Lei’ato title originated in ʻAoa on the island's north coast, near its eastern end. Lei’ato’s son later established a secondary lineage in Fagaʻitua. Over time, the Fagaʻitua branch gained prominence, with their matai becoming the leading high chief for all of eastern Tutuila. The unrest began when the inhabitants of Aoa attempted to appoint a rival high chief. In retaliation, the Lei’ato of Fagaʻitua mobilized warriors and launched a dawn raid on ʻAoa, resulting in the deaths and injuries of several villagers. The British consulate became involved after the looting of a store owned by A. Young, an English trader, and the killing of his pigs. Following these events, relatives and supporters of Lei’ato from western Tutuila traveled east to participate in the ongoing conflict.

Geology

The geological formation of Fagaʻitua is centered around the Ālōfau volcanic complex, which features a shield-shaped dome composed of thinly layered basaltic lava flows, including both

ʻaʻā Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or unde ...

and

pāhoehoe Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or unde ...

types. These layers, along with dikes,

breccias Breccia ( , ; ) is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a varie ...

, and

tuffs Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

, create a distinctive structure that spans approximately 2.4 square kilometers on the eastern edge of Fagaʻitua Bay. The

volcanic dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...

is situated over a

rift zone A rift zone is a feature of some volcanoes, especially shield volcanoes, in which a set of linear cracks (or rifts) develops in a volcanic edifice, typically forming into two or three well-defined regions along the flanks of the vent. Believed ...

that follows a northeast-southwest orientation. The lava deposits, predominantly primitive

olivine basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% ...

s, are thinly bedded and exhibit a dip of 10 to 20 degrees, radiating away from the village of Ālōfau. A significant dike complex is visible along the road leading southeast from Fagaʻitua village, providing insight into the subsurface dynamics of the volcano. The region also hosts an extensive array of volcanic dikes, with around 130 individual formations exposed on a promontory to the north of Ālōfau. These features are complemented by additional dikes located south of the village, emphasizing the area's complex magmatic activity. The caldera rim, a prominent feature of this volcanic system, descends steeply toward the southwest and extends partially beneath the adjacent offshore waters.Keating, Barbara H. and Barrie R. Bolton (2012). ''Geology and Offshore Mineral Resources of the Central Pacific Basin''.

Springer New York Springer Publishing Company is an American publishing company of academic journals and books, focusing on the fields of nursing, gerontology, psychology, social work, counseling, public health, and rehabilitation (neuropsychology). It was estab ...

. Page 152. ISBN 9781461228967.

Demographics

Notable residents

* Susana Leiato Lutali – former

First Lady of American Samoa The First Lady of American Samoa is the title attributed to the wife of the governor of American Samoa. To date, there have been no first gentlemen of American Samoa. The current first lady is Ella Mauga, wife of Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga, who ...

(1985–1989, 1993–1997) * Blessman Ta'ala – football player * Muagututiʻa Moevasa Tauoa – politician

References

Villages in American Samoa Tutuila {{AmericanSamoa-geo-stub