 US Geological Survey photo of Guguan | |
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 17°18′39″N145°50′30″E / 17.31083°N 145.84167°E /17.31083; 145.84167 |
| Archipelago | Northern Mariana Islands |
| Area | 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi)[1] |
| Length | 2.8 km (1.74 mi) |
| Width | 2.3 km (1.43 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 287 m (942 ft) |
| Administration | |
United States | |
| Commonwealth | Northern Mariana Islands |
| Demographics | |
| Population | - uninhabited - (2010) |
Guguan is an island in theNorthern Mariana Islands in thePacific Ocean. The island is currently uninhabited. Guguan is located 30 nautical miles (56 km) south fromAlamagan and 250 nautical miles (463 km) north fromSaipan, and is 67 nautical miles (124 km) northeast fromSarigan.
Guguan was discovered in 1668 by the Spanish missionaryDiego Luis de Sanvitores who charted it asSan Felipe. It is likely that it was previously visited in 1522 by the Spanish sailorGonzalo de Vigo, deserter from theMagellan expedition in 1521, who was the first European castaway in the history of the Pacific.[2] Uninhabited at the time, in contrast to other islands in the Marianas it was never colonized. As with the other islands in the northern Marianna, Guguan was sold by Spain to theGerman Empire in 1899, and administered as part ofGerman New Guinea. From 1909 to 1912, the island was leased to a Japanese company, who sent hunters to gather bird feathers for the European hat industry.[3]
DuringWorld War I, Guguan came under the control of theEmpire of Japan and was subsequently administered as theSouth Seas Mandate. FollowingWorld War II, the island came under the control of theUnited States and was administered as part of theTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Since 1978, the island has been part of theNorthern Islands Municipality of theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Guguan is roughly circular in shape, with a length of 2.8 kilometers (1.7 mi) and a width of 2.3 km (1.4 mi) and an area of 3.87 km2 (1.49 sq mi). The island consists of twostratovolcanoes, the southern of which having a height of 287 m (942 ft) above sea level, and the northern of which having a height of 263 m (863 ft). The only recorded eruption was around 1883, from the northern peak, which producedpyroclastic flows as well aslava flows which reached the coast. The coast is bordered by steepbasaltic rock with gables of high ridges which contain deep, rain-eroded gorges.
In the early 1980s, Guguan was set aside as a nature preserve by theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). It has never been permanently settled by humans and is free from feral species such as feral camels, cats, chickens, dogs, donkeys, goats, horses, mice, pigeons, pigs, rabbits, rats. Among the undisturbed wildlife is the rareMicronesian megapodeMegapodius laperouse which can be found only in the Northern Marianas and thePalau Islands.[4] The island has been recognised as anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International because it supports populations of Micronesian megapodes,white-throated ground doves,sooty terns,grey-backed terns,Micronesian myzomelas andMicronesian starlings.[5]
