Guam, island and unincorporated territory of theUnited States in the NorthPacific Ocean, the largest, most populous, and southernmost of theMariana Islands. It lies about 5,800 miles (9,300 km) west ofSan Francisco and 1,600 miles (2,600 km) east ofManila.

Britannica Quiz

Islands and Archipelagos

What are the islands of the Maldives made of? What is the world’s largest archipelago? Sort out the facts about islands across the globe.

Hagåtña (Agana) is the capital. Major settlements areDededo, in the north-central part of the island,Machanao, in the north, andApotgan, on the west coast.

Land

The island is sharply divided into a northernlimestone plateau with a general elevation of about 500 feet (150 metres) and a higher area of volcanic hills to the south. The plateau is covered with a thick growth of jungle, while the volcanic hills support mainly swordgrass. The hills rise to an elevation of more than 1,000 feet (300 metres); their lowerslopes to the east (and also, in part, to the west) are covered with younger limestones, generally similar to those of the northern limestoneplateau. The island rises to 1,332 feet (406 metres) atMount Lamlam, in the southwest. To the southeast of Mount Lamlam is another major hill,Mount Bolanos (1,240 feet [378 metres]).

Guam has a pleasant tropicalclimate tempered by the northeasttrade winds and the north equatorialocean current that flows west across the Pacific.Temperatures range between approximately 70 and 90 °F (20 and 30 °C) and are fairly even throughout the year. Average annualprecipitation is about 95 inches (2,400 mm), three-fourths of which falls instorms during the wetseason, generally starting in May or June and lasting through November. The evenness of the climate is punctuated by destructivetyphoons (tropical cyclones) that occur at irregular intervals.

Palm trees,ferns, and other tropical plants abound. Many types of marine life andinsects are also found. However, as a result of the accidental introduction in the 1940s of thebrown tree snake, aninvasive species fromNew Guinea,indigenous bird life on Guam has been devastated. At least a dozenbird species have become extinct, and several more areendangered. The abundantsnakes have also caused numerous power outages by climbing poles and wires and crawling into transmission equipment, and they have killed smallmammals.

People

Native Guamanians, ethnically calledChamorros, are of basically Malayo-Indonesian descent with a considerable admixture of Spanish, Filipino, Mexican, and other European and Asian ancestries. Chamorros and other Micronesiansconstitute about half the population. Nearly one-third of the people are Asians, notably Filipinos and Koreans, and there is a small minority of people of European ancestry. About three-fourths of the people are Roman Catholic, and one-eighth are Protestant.

TheChamorro language is anAustronesian language that has, over time, come to incorporate many Spanish words. The word Chamorro is derived from Chamorri, or Chamoli, meaning “noble.” English and Chamorro are the official languages; although Chamorro is still used in many homes, English is the language ofeducation and commerce. Because of the number of tourists and investors fromJapan, Japanese is increasingly also used.

The island’s rate of natural increase, although about average for the region, is high compared with that of theUnited States, partly because of a lowdeath rate. There are large numbers of migrants from thePhilippines andSouth Korea, as well as from neighbouring states such as theFederated States of Micronesia,Palau, and theRepublic of the Marshall Islands.

Economy

The development of Guam into an important U.S. military base brought about profound changes in the island’s agricultural patterns afterWorld War II. Foodstuffs were imported in increasing amounts at the expense of local cultivation, and Guam now imports most of its food.

The U.S. armed forces are represented at multiple military facilities on Guam. Andersen Air Force Base and its annexes are concentrated at the northern end of the island.U.S. Navy facilities, located around the island, include a naval air station, a naval base with a ship repair yard, communications centres, and ahospital. Work at the military facilities has drawn many islanders away from their former lives of subsistence agriculture and fishing.

Tourism is the most prominent component of the economy, with more than a million visitors arriving per year. There are several luxury hotels along Tumon Bay, which has been highly developed as a tourist area. An international airport links Guam with other Pacific islands,Asia, andHawaii and the continentalUnited States.

Poultry farming, garment-finishing plants, and oil refining are important earners. Guam is a duty-free port, and this status has attracted a number of small manufacturing companies from countries in Asia and has also prompted some immigration. Major imports—mostly from the United States andJapan—include food products, motor vehicles and parts, and shoes and otherleather products. The leading exports are motor vehicles and parts,fish and other food products,scrap metal, and tobacco products.Finland, Japan, and theFederated States of Micronesia are the main export destinations.