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 Tinian on an area map, southwest ofSaipan, showing waters around islands and deeper Pacific section. | |
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  Tinian | |
 Interactive map of Tinian | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 15°00′N145°38′E / 15.000°N 145.633°E /15.000; 145.633 |
| Archipelago | Marianas |
| Area | 101.22 km2 (39.08 sq mi)[1] |
| Highest elevation | 187 m (614 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Kastiyu |
| Administration | |
United States | |
| Commonwealth | Northern Mariana Islands |
| Largest settlement | San Jose |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 2,044[2] (2020) |
Tinian (/ˈtɪniən,ˌtiːniˈɑːn/;Chamorro:Tini'an) is one of the three principal islands of theCommonwealth of theNorthern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboringAguiguan, it formsTinian Municipality, one of the four constituentmunicipalities of the Northern Marianas. Tinian's largest village isSan Jose. Tinian is just south of the Northern Marianas' most inhabited island,Saipan, but north of the populatedRota to the south. The island has manyWorld War II historical sites, cattle ranches, and beaches. There was a 5-star casino that operated from 1998 to 2015; the remaining are other hotels/resorts and a golf course. The main Saipan access is a short airplane ride from the international airport or a charter boat.
Tinian is part of the United States and theCNMI. Along withGuam, it is the westernmost U.S. island in the Pacific.
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The Mariana Islands, of which Tinian is one, were the first islands settled by humans inRemote Oceania. It was also the first and the longest of the ocean-crossing voyages of theAustronesian peoples and is separate from the laterPolynesian settlement of the rest of Remote Oceania. They were settled around 1500 to 1400 BC by migrants departing from thePhilippines. This was followed by a second migration from theCaroline Islands by the first millennium AD, and a third migration fromIsland Southeast Asia (likely the Philippines or easternIndonesia) by 900 AD.[3][4]
Thousands of years ago, the island was settled by a people who built stone structures all over Tinian calledtaga.[5]
Tinian, together withSaipan, was possibly first sighted by Europeans of the Spanish expedition ofFerdinand Magellan when it made landfall in the southern Marianas on March 6, 1521.[6] It was likely sighted next by Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa in 1522 on board the Spanish shipTrinidad, in an attempt to reachPanama after the death of Magellan.[7] This would have happened after the sighting of theMaug Islands between the end of August and the end of September.Gonzalo de Vigo deserted in the Maugs from theTrinidad, and, in the next four years, living with theChamorros, visited thirteen main islands in the Marianas, with possibly Tinian among them.
The first clear evidence of European arrival was by theManila galleonSanta Margarita, commanded by Juan Martínez de Guillistegui, that wrecked in the southeast of Saipan in February 1600 and whose survivors stayed for two years, until 250 of them were rescued by theSanto Tomas and theJesus María.[8] The Spanish formally occupied Tinian in 1669, with the missionary expedition ofDiego Luis de San Vitores, who named itBuenavista Mariana (Goodsight Mariana). From 1670, it became a port of call for Spanish and occasional English, Dutch, and French ships as a supply station for food and water.[9]
The native population, estimated at 40,000 at the time of the Spanish arrival, shrank to less than 1,400 due to European-introduced diseases and conflicts over land. The survivors were forcibly relocated toGuam in 1720 for better control and assimilation. Under Spanish rule, the island was developed into ranches for raising cattle and pigs, which were used to provisionSpanish galleons en route toMexico.
After theSpanish–American War of 1898, Tinian was sold by Spain to theGerman Empire in 1899. Germany administered the island as part ofGerman New Guinea. During the German period, there was no attempt to develop or settle the island, which remained under the control of its Spanish and mestizo landowners.[10]
In 1914, duringWorld War I, the island was captured byJapan, which was awarded formal control in 1918 by theLeague of Nations as part of theSouth Seas Mandate. The island was settled by ethnic Japanese, Koreans, andOkinawans, who developed large-scalesugar plantations.[11] Under Japanese rule, extensive infrastructure development occurred, including the construction of port facilities, waterworks, power stations, paved roads, and schools, along with entertainment facilities andShinto shrines. Initial efforts to settle the island were met with difficulties, including an infestation ofscale insects, followed by a severe drought in 1919. Efforts were resumed under the aegis of theNanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha in 1926, with new settlers from Okinawa as well asFukushima andYamagata Prefectures, and the introduction ofcoffee andcotton as cash crops in addition to sugar, and the construction of aKatsuobushi processing plant. By June 1944, some 15,700 Japanese civilians resided on Tinian (including 2,700 ethnic Koreans and 22 ethnic Chamorro).[12]
In the Japanese area, thousands of colonists arrived, and it was used for agriculture and military purposes.[5]
The Japanese military did not garrison Tinian until the latter stages ofWorld War II when the Japanese realized its strategic importance as a possible base for AmericanBoeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. The island was seized by theAllies during theBattle of Tinian from July 24 to August 1, 1944. Of the 8,500-man Japanese garrison, 313 survived the battle. At the time, there were an estimated 15,700 Japanese civilians (including 2,700 ethnic Koreans) on the island. Many hundreds were also killed in the crossfire, took their own lives, or were executed by the Japanese military to avoid capture by the Americans.[13]
Tinian is approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometres) from mainland Japan and was suitable as a staging base for continuous heavy bomber attacks on the Japanese Islands. Immediately after the island's seizure by the US, construction began on the largest airbase ofWWII, which covered the entire island (except its three highland areas). TheTinian Naval Base was a 40,000-personnel installation. The NavySeabees (110th NCB) laid out the base in a pattern of city streets resemblingNew York City'sManhattan Island and named the streets accordingly.
The former Japanese town of Sunharon was nicknamed "The Village" because its location corresponded to that ofGreenwich Village. A large square area between West and North Fields, used primarily for the location of the base hospitals and otherwise left undeveloped, was calledCentral Park.[14] Some of the roads named from NYC include Broadway, 42nd Street, Lenox Avenue, Riverside Drive, and Eighth Avenue.[5]
Two runway complexes, West Field and North Field, having a combined total of six 8,500-foot (2,600-meter) runways, were constructed. Today, the four runways at North Field are overgrown and abandoned. A five-year, $409 million contract was awarded in 2024 to upgrade the North Field. One of the two West Field runways remains in use as part ofTinian International Airport.[15]
The Japanese originally built an airfield with two parallel runways. The Americans repaired it and then called it West Field.[16] From here, seven squadrons of the58th Bombardment Wing flew combat and reconnaissance missions throughoutSoutheast Asia and finally into theJapanese home islands, the latter as part of thebombing of Japan.[16][17]
After WWII, West Field was Tinian's airport, called Gurguan Point Airfield,[16] and today isTinian International Airport.
The Japanese had constructed three small fighter strips[11] on Tinian, but none were suitable for bomber operations. Under the Americans, nearly the entire northern end of the island was occupied by the runways, almost 11 miles (18 km) of taxiways, and the airfield area, designed to accommodate the entire313th Bombardment Wing complement ofBoeing B-29 Superfortress bombers.[11]
North Field was the departure point of the509th Composite Group specializedSilverplate nuclear weapons delivery B-29 bombersEnola Gay andBockscar, which respectively carried the twoatomic bombs namedLittle Boy andFat Man that weredropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[15]
Remains of the US bomber base and Atom Bomb Pits,[15] as well as the remains of Japanese fortifications, are located at North Field. A memorial on the old airfield at the loading pits is roofed with glazed panels in metal framing for safer viewing. Both pits were reopened in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary Commemoration of theBattles of Saipan andTinian. The pits were originally constructed to load the bombs since they were too large to be loaded conventionally. The B-29s were maneuvered over a pit with their bomb bay doors open to facilitate loading.[18]
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After the end of World War II, Tinian became part of theTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands, controlled by the United States. The island continued to be dominated by the United States military and was administered as a sub-district of Saipan until 1962. Since 1978, it has been a municipality of theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
During the 1980s, one of the runways on North Field was kept active to allow US Air ForceC-130s to take off and land in support of U.S. Marine Corps training exercises in the island's north end. The two northern airstrips, Alpha and Bravo, were cleared of vegetation, and the limestone coral that had been disturbed by roots was excavated and replaced by Marines of the9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd FSSG, 3rd Marine Division then stationed at Camp Hansen, Okinawa in late 1981. That unit had been transported by sea aboard theUSS Cayuga (LST-1186).[19][verification needed] The military presence began to be replaced by tourism in the 1990s, though it still plays an important role in the local economy.[citation needed]
On November 4, 1986, the Northern Marianas, including Tinian, became a part of the United States, and the people there became US Citizens.[20]
Primary business on the island in the postwar period included fishing,[21] cattle, and tourism. In the 1990s, an ill-fated attempt at operating casinos began.[22] There are still many ranches and some 1–2 thousand cattle on Tinian.[22]
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In 2009,Star Marianas Air, based in Tinian, was founded, and by the 2010s, small aircraft operated routes between Saipan, Guam, Tinian, and Rota, for example. By 2016, the airline had a fleet consisting of fivePiper Super-Chieftains and sixPiper Cherokee Sixes.[23]
The Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino shut down in 2016, with the company blamingTyphoon Souledor for a decrease in visitors.[24][25] TheHong Kong-based company that operated what was the only casino on Tinian had its gambling license revoked and was going bankrupt.[25][26]
On October 24, 2018,Typhoon Yutu made landfall on the island of Tinian as aCategory 5-equivalent super typhoon, becoming the most powerful storm on record to hit the Northern Mariana Islands and causing an extensive amount of damage.[27][28]
A new casino, called Tinian Diamond Casino, was in the final stages of completion by 2022 and was working to reestablish a ferry between Tinian and nearby Saipan.[29] However, it never opened.[30]
In late 2023, it was reported that the US House and Senate approved $79 million for Tinian's Divert Airfield in theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.[31]
In 2024, the U.S. Air Force awarded a $409 million contract toFluor Corporation, a construction company inTexas, to restore the island's former airfield.[32] The re-militarization of the island caused concern for local residents, who fear rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China could make Tinian a target in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.[33]
"Sometimes there's very little oversight of what the military does because the community is not involved. It tends to take place at the agency level," said cultural anthropologistIsa Arriola, who is also a Northern Mariana Islander.[34]
It was reported at a hearing on Tinian, residents pointed out that the US military's amphibious landings would could cut off access to a popular fishing area. In response to the concern, aUS Navy representative assured the community that the military would “relocate” the fishing ground's natural resources to another beach.[35]
In addition to North Field, a second alternative airfield for Andersen Air Force Base is under construction on Tinian. Located on the north side of the civilian Tinian Airport, the first phase of work on Tinian Divert Airfield is scheduled to be completed by October 2025.The Tinian Divert Airfield is aUS Air Force project to create a secondary landing site on Tinian Island in the Pacific, designed to support agile combat employment (ACE) and serve as a backup to the primary Anderson Air Force Base on Guam. Guam and Tinian are part of a north–south defensive line known as theSecond Island Chain under America's containment strategy.[36]
Tinian Municipality is one of the four constituentmunicipalities of theNorthern Mariana Islands. It consists of Tinian andAguiguan islands and their offshore islets. The municipality is the second southernmost in the Northern Marianas and has a land area of 108.1 km2 (41.7 sq mi). The population of the2000 census was 3,540 persons, all living on the island of Tinian (Aguijan is uninhabited). The municipal seat and main village of the island of Tinian isSan Jose, situated on the southwest coast.[37]
Tinian is about 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) southwest ofSaipan, from which it is separated by theSaipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 square miles (100 km2), with its highest elevation on the Kastiyu plateau at 187 meters (614 ft). It is considerably flatter than Saipan. The island has limestone cliffs and caves. There is a variety of marine life and coral reefs surrounding the island. Its clear, warm waters are ideal for snorkeling, scuba diving, and sport fishing.
Aguijan Island, a small island, lies to the south, and Tatsumi Bank, a fishing forum, lies to the southeast.[38]
There is a variety of flora and fauna; theTinian monarch is the island's only endemic bird species and is threatened by habitat loss. The island has been recognised as anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International because it supports populations ofMicronesian megapodes,white-throated ground doves,Mariana fruit doves,Micronesian myzomelas,rufous fantails,Saipan white-eyes andMicronesian starlings.[39]
Surveys of bird populations in 1982, 1996, and 2008 have found that the bird population, including native birds, is ok. Examples of native bird species on Tinian includeMariana Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopusroseicapilla), Micronesian Honeyeater (Myzomela rubratra), andTinian Monarch (Monarcha takatsukasae).[40]
The population of Tinian was 2,044 (as of 2020[update]), which corresponds to less than 5% of all residents of the Northern Mariana Islands and a population density of 20 people per km2.[41] Most of the inhabitants areChamorros (about 75%) and members of various other groups of islands in theCaroline Islands. There are also minorities of Filipino, Bangladeshi, East Asian, and European-descended people.
Tinians are United States citizens.[42]
Much of the local economy of Tinian is dependent on tourism. However, tourist infrastructure is relatively poorly developed. The village of San Jose has several smaller hotels, restaurants, and bars. Agriculture is primarily on the subsistence level. The largest employers on the island are the government and the casino, which was legalized in 1989. The2010 census showed a population of 3,136[43] for the island.[44]
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Tinian Airport (TIQ) is small and serviced byStar Marianas Air, which operates daily scheduled flights toSaipan.Freedom Air, which previously served the island, filed for bankruptcy in October 2013 and suspended all operations in March 2014.
The ferry boat service that operated twice daily between Tinian and Saipan ran at a loss estimated to be US$1 million a year and has since ceased.[citation needed]
The local government is the Municipality of Tinian and Aguiguan, which also includes the uninhabited islandAguijan.[45] The municipality has a land area of 108.1 km2 (41.7 sq mi). The population of the2000 census was 3,540 persons, all living on the island of Tinian (Aguijan is uninhabited). The municipal seat and main village of the island of Tinian isSan Jose, situated on the southwest coast.[37] Mayor Edwin P. Aldan was inaugurated in January 2019,[46] succeedingJoey San Nicolas.
The House of Taga is alatte stone site, one of the most significant structures in the Marianas. The stones are quarried limestone, each approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) in length. Of the twelve large Latte structures, only one is still standing. The site is one of seven locations on Tinian on theNational Register of Historic Places listings in the Northern Mariana Islands.
Major Beaches on Tinian include:[47]
In 2022, Chiget Beach was reopened for use after being cleared. The issue was unexploded ordnance on the beach.[48]
One of the natural wonders is a blowhole, in which water gets shot up 10 meters.[5] Snorkeling and scuba diving is a popular tourist activity in Tinian.[5]
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Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System operates public schools including Tinian Elementary School,[49] andTinian Jr./Sr. High School.
State Library of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands operates the Tinian Public Library in San Jose Village.[50]
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