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Guam



 
 
For GUAM, an eastern European international organization, see GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development
GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development

The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization of four post-USSR states: Georgia , Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova....
.


Guam (; Chamorro
Chamorro language

It is an agglutinative language, grammatically allowing root words to be modified by an unlimited number of affixes. For example, masanganen?aihon "talked awhile ", passivizing prefix ma-, root verb sangan, directional suffix i "to" with excrescent consonant n, and suffix ?aihon "a short amount of time"....
: ), officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 and is an organized, unincorporated insular area
Insular area

An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. state nor the Washington, D.C., the federal district of the United States....
 of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. The island's capital is Hagåtña
Hagåtña, Guam

Hag?t?a , formerly Agana and in Spanish language Aga?a, is the Capital of the American island territory of Guam. It is the island's second smallest Villages of Guam in both area and population....
 (formerly Agana). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east....
.

The Chamorros
Chamorros

"Chamoru" redirects here. For the language, see Chamorro language.The Chamorro people or Chamoru people are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, which include the Territories of the United States of Guam and the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia....
, Guam's indigenous inhabitants, first populated the island approximately 4,000 years ago.






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Encyclopedia


For GUAM, an eastern European international organization, see GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development
GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development

The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization of four post-USSR states: Georgia , Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova....
.


Guam (; Chamorro
Chamorro language

It is an agglutinative language, grammatically allowing root words to be modified by an unlimited number of affixes. For example, masanganen?aihon "talked awhile ", passivizing prefix ma-, root verb sangan, directional suffix i "to" with excrescent consonant n, and suffix ?aihon "a short amount of time"....
: ), officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 and is an organized, unincorporated insular area
Insular area

An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. state nor the Washington, D.C., the federal district of the United States....
 of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. The island's capital is Hagåtña
Hagåtña, Guam

Hag?t?a , formerly Agana and in Spanish language Aga?a, is the Capital of the American island territory of Guam. It is the island's second smallest Villages of Guam in both area and population....
 (formerly Agana). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east....
.

The Chamorros
Chamorros

"Chamoru" redirects here. For the language, see Chamorro language.The Chamorro people or Chamoru people are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, which include the Territories of the United States of Guam and the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia....
, Guam's indigenous inhabitants, first populated the island approximately 4,000 years ago. The island has a long history of European colonialism beginning in 1668 with the arrival of Spanish settlers including Padre San Vitores
Diego Luis de San Vitores

Venerable Diego Luis de San Vitores was a Spain Jesuit missionary who founded the first Catholic church on the island of Guam. He is responsible for establishing the Spanish presence in the Mariana Islands....
, a Catholic missionary
Missionary

A 'missionary' is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who Proselytism. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus...
. The island was taken over from Spain
Spanish East Indies

Spanish East Indies , was a term used to describe Spain territories in Asia-Pacific which lasted over three centuries . It encompassed the Philippine Islands , and its dependencies including the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands, and for a period of time, parts of Formosa , Sabah, and parts of the Moluccas....
 by the United States during the Spanish American War in 1898. As the largest island in Micronesia
Micronesia

Micronesia , from the Greek language mikros and nesos , is a subregion of Oceania, comprising hundreds of small islands in the Pacific Ocean....
 and the only American-held island in the region before World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, Guam was occupied by the Japanese in December 1941, and was subject to fierce fighting when American troops recaptured the island in July 1944. Today, Guam's economy is mainly supported by tourism
Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from...
 (primarily from Japan) and U.S. military
Military of the United States

The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified armed forces of the United States. The United States military was first formed by the second Second Continental Congress to defend the new nation against the British Empire in the American Revolutionary War....
 bases.

History


It is believed that Guam was first discovered by seafaring people who migrated from southeastern Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
 around 2000 B.C. Most of what is known about Pre-Contact ("Ancient") Chamorros
Chamorros

"Chamoru" redirects here. For the language, see Chamorro language.The Chamorro people or Chamoru people are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, which include the Territories of the United States of Guam and the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia....
 comes from legends and myths, archaeological evidence, Jesuit missionary accounts, and observations from visiting scientists like Otto von Kotzebue
Otto von Kotzebue

Otto von Kotzebue , was a Baltic German navigator in Russian service.The second son of August von Kotzebue, he was born at Tallinn , then part of the Russian Empire....
 and Louis de Freycinet
Louis de Freycinet

BiographyHe was born at Mont?limar, Dr?me. In 1793, he entered the French navy. After taking part in several engagements against the United Kingdom, he joined in 1800, along with his brother , an expedition to explore the south and south-west coasts of Australia....
.

When Europeans first arrived on Guam, Chamorro society roughly fell into three classes: matua
Matua

*Matua Island is another name for the island of Matsuwa located in the Kurilian archipelago northeast of Japan between Hokkaido and the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia....
 (upper class), achaot (middle class), and mana'chang (lower class). The matua were located in the coastal villages, which meant they had the best access to fishing grounds while the mana'chang were located in the interior of the island. Matua and mana'chang rarely communicated with each other, and matua often used achaot as a go-between. There were also "makana" (shamans), skilled in healing and medicine. Belief in spirits of ancient Chamorros called Taotao Mona
Taotao Mona

Taotao Mona are spirits of ancient inhabitants believed to haunt the mountains and wild places of the Mariana Islands, which include Luta, Saipan, Tinian and Guam, in Micronesia....
 still persists as a remnant of pre-European society. Early European explorers noted the Chamorros' fast sailing vessels used for trading with other islands of Micronesia.

Guam—the only European
Age of Discovery

The Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration, was a period in human history starting in the 15th Century and continuing into the 17th Century, during which Europeans explored the world by ocean searching for trading partners and particular trade goods....
 outpost in the Pacific Ocean beyond the Philippines
Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, the regular stopping-place between Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 and Manila
Manila

The 'City of Manila' , or simply 'Manila', is the Capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila....
 from 1565 to 1815, and (since Philippine independence) the farthest outpost of actual United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 territory in the Pacific—is the biggest single segment of Micronesia, the largest island between Kyushu and New Guinea, between the Philippines and the Hawaiian Islands.

Latte Stones The Latte Stones familiar to Guam residents and visitors alike were in fact a recent development in Pre-Contact Chamorro society. The latte stone consists of a head and a base shaped out of limestone. Archaeologists using carbon-dating have broken Pre-Contact Guam (i.e. Chamorro) history into three periods: "Pre-Latte" (B.C. 2000? to A.D. 1) "Transitional Pre-Latte" (A.D. 1 to A.D. 1000), and "Latte" (A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1521). Archaeological evidence also suggests that Chamorro society was on the verge of another transition phase by 1521, as latte stones became bigger. Assuming the stones were used for chiefly houses, it can be argued that Chamorro society was becoming more stratified, either from population growth or the arrival of new people. The theory remains tenuous, however, due to lack of evidence, but if proven correct, will further support the idea that Pre-Contact Chamorros lived in a vibrant and dynamic environment.

Spanish Colonization and the Manila Galeons
Svitores Guam
Portuguese
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
 navigator Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese people List of maritime explorers who, while in the service of the Spanish Crown, tried to find a westward route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia....
, sailing for the King of Spain, reached the island in 1521 during his circumnavigation of the globe. General Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi

Miguel L?pez de Legazpi , also known as Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Basque people Spain conquistador who established one of the first European settlements in the East Indies, and the Pacific Islands in 1565....
 claimed Guam for Spain in 1565. Spanish colonization commenced in 1668 with the arrival of Padre San Vitores, who established the first Catholic mission. The islands were then governed as part of the Spanish East Indies
Spanish East Indies

Spanish East Indies , was a term used to describe Spain territories in Asia-Pacific which lasted over three centuries . It encompassed the Philippine Islands , and its dependencies including the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands, and for a period of time, parts of Formosa , Sabah, and parts of the Moluccas....
 from the Philippines
Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
. Between 1668 and 1815, Guam was an important resting stop for the Spanish Manila galleons, a fleet that covered the trade route between Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 and the Philippines. Guam, along with the rest of the Mariana and Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands form a large archipelago of widely scattered islands in the western Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end....
, was treated by Spain as part of their colony in the Philippines. While Guam's Chamorro culture is unique, the cultures of both Guam and the Northern Marianas were heavily influenced by Spanish culture and traditions.

The Spanish American War and World War II

The United States took control
Capture of Guam

The capture of Guam was a bloodless event between the United States and the Kingdom of Spain during the Spanish-American War....
 of the island in the 1898 Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War

The Spanish?American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba....
. Guam came to serve as a station for American ships traveling to and from the Philippines, while the northern Mariana islands passed to Germany then Japan. During World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, Guam was attacked, and invaded, by the armed forces of Japan on December 8, 1941. Before the attack, most of the United States citizens were transported from the island and away from imminent danger. The Northern Mariana Islands had become a Japanese protectorate before the war. It was the Chamorros from the Northern Marianas who were brought to Guam to serve as interpreters and in other capacities for the occupying Japanese force. The Guamanian Chamorros were treated as an occupied enemy by the Japanese military. After the war, this would cause some resentment by the Guamanian Chamorros towards the Chamorros in the Northern Marianas. Guam's Japanese occupation lasted for approximately thirty-one months. During this period, the indigenous people of Guam were subjected to forced labor, family separation, incarceration, execution, concentration camps and prostitution. Approximately one thousand people died during the occupation according to Congressional Testimony in 2004. The United States returned and fought the Battle of Guam on July 21, 1944, to recapture the island from Japanese military occupation. To this day, Guam remains the only U.S. soil with a sizable population ever to have been occupied by a foreign military power, other than the limited British occupation of U.S. territory during the War of 1812
War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
. The United States also captured and occupied the Northern Marianas. After the war, the Guam Organic Act of 1950
Guam Organic Act of 1950

The Guam Organic Act of 1950, is a United States federal law that redesignated the island of Guam as an unincorporated territory of the United States, established executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and transferred Federal jurisdiction from the United States Navy to the Department of the Interior....
, which established Guam as an unincorporated organized territory of the United States, provided for the structure of the island's civilian government and granted the people U.S. citizenship.

Geography

Guammap
Guam lies between 13.2°N and 13.7°N and between 144.6°E and 145.0°E, and has an area of , making it the 32nd largest island of the United States
List of islands of the United States by area

This is a list of islands of the United States, as ordered by area. It includes all islands with an area greater than 20 square miles , but excludes peninsulas such as Cape Cod, Copper Island, or Delmarva Peninsula that were originally connected to the mainland, but have been effectively transformed into islands by the building of canals....
. It is the southernmost island in the Mariana island chain and is the largest island in Micronesia
Micronesia

Micronesia , from the Greek language mikros and nesos , is a subregion of Oceania, comprising hundreds of small islands in the Pacific Ocean....
. This island chain was created by the colliding Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates. The Mariana Trench
Mariana Trench

The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans, and the deepest location on the surface of the Earth's Crust . It has a maximum depth of about 10,911 meters , and is located in the western North Pacific Ocean, to the east and south of the Mariana Islands, near Guam....
, a deep subduction zone
Subduction

In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundary by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge....
, lies beside the island chain to the east. Challenger Deep
Challenger Deep

The Challenger Deep is the deepest surveyed point in the oceans, with a depth of about 11,000 metres . The exact depth is unknown. It is located in the Mariana Islands group at the southern end of the Mariana Trench....
, the deepest surveyed point in the Oceans, is southwest of Guam at deep. The highest point in Guam is Mount Lamlam
Mount Lamlam

Mount Lamlam is a peak on the island of Guam. It is located in the southwest of the island. At 1,332 feet , it is the highest peak in Guam. The distance from the peak to the bottom of the nearby Marianas Trench is perhaps the greatest change in elevation on Earth over such a short distance....
, which is 1,332 feet (406 m). The island of Guam is long and to wide. The island experiences occasional earthquake
Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
s due to its location on the western edge of the Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate

The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.To the north the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda Ridge....
 and near the Philippine Plate
Philippine Plate

File:Philippine Sea plate.JPGThe Philippine Sea Plate is a tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines. The Philippine Sea Plate comprises oceanic lithosphere that lies beneath the Philippine Sea, and so has been referred to in the scientific literature of the last 50 years as the Philippine Sea Plate....
. In recent years, earthquakes with epicenters near Guam have had magnitudes ranging from 5.0 to 8.7. Unlike the Anatahan
Anatahan

Anatahan is one of the most active volcanoes of the Northern Mariana Islands. The island of Anatahan is 9 kilometres  long and has a land area of 31.21 square kilometres ....
 volcano
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 in the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands , officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean....
, Guam is not volcanically active. However, due to its proximity to Anatahan, vog
Vog

Vog is a portmanteau of the words "volcanic" and "smog," and a volcanic smog is formed when sulfur dioxide and other gases emitted by an erupting volcano mix with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight....
 does occasionally affect Guam.

The northern part of the island is a forested coralline limestone plateau while the south contains volcanic peaks covered in forest and grassland. A coral reef surrounds most of the island, except in areas where bays exist that provide access to small rivers and streams that run down from the hills into the Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea. The island's population is most dense in the northern and central regions.

Climate

The climate is characterized as tropical marine. The weather is generally hot and very humid with little seasonal temperature variation. The mean high temperature is 86 °F
Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit , who proposed it in 1724. Today, the scale has largely been replaced by the Celsius scale; it is still in use for non-scientific purposes in the United States and a few other countries such as Belize....
 (30 °C
Celsius

Celsius is a temperature scale that is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death....
) and mean low is 76 °F
Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit , who proposed it in 1724. Today, the scale has largely been replaced by the Celsius scale; it is still in use for non-scientific purposes in the United States and a few other countries such as Belize....
 (24 °C) with an average annual rainfall of 96 inches (2,180 mm). The dry season runs from December through June. The remaining months constitute the rainy season. The months of January and February are considered the coolest months of the year with night time temperatures in the mid to low 70's and generally lower humidity levels. The highest risk of typhoons is during October and November. They can occur, however, year-round.

An average of three tropical storms and one typhoon pass within of Guam each year. The most intense typhoon to pass over Guam recently was Super Typhoon Pongsona
Typhoon Pongsona

Typhoon Pongsona was the last tropical cyclone of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season, and was the costliest United States disaster in 2002. The name "Pongsona" was contributed by North Korea for the Lists of tropical cyclone names and is the Korean language name for the Impatiens balsamina....
, with sustained winds of 125 miles per hour, which slammed Guam on December 8, 2002, leaving massive destruction.

Since Super Typhoon Pamela
1976 Pacific typhoon season

The 1976 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1976, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December....
 in 1976 wooden structures have been largely replaced by concrete structures. During the 1980s wooden utility poles began to be replaced by typhoon-resistant concrete and steel poles. After the local Government enforced stricter construction codes, many home and business owners built their structures out of reinforced concrete with installed typhoon shutters.

Demographics

According to the U.S. census conducted in 2000, the population of Guam was 154,805. The 2007 population estimate for Guam is 173,460. As of 2005, the annual population growth is 1.76%. The largest ethnic group are the native Chamorros
Chamorros

"Chamoru" redirects here. For the language, see Chamorro language.The Chamorro people or Chamoru people are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, which include the Territories of the United States of Guam and the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia....
, accounting for 57% of the total population. Other significant ethnic groups include those of Filipino
Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
 (25.5%), White (10%) indicates of both European often of Spanish
Spanish people

Spanish people or Spaniards are a nation or ethnic group native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. They are often considered an amalgam of different ethnic groups, rather than an ethnic group by itself....
 and North American ancestry, and the rest are of Chinese
Ethnic Chinese

Ethnic Chinese may be:*Han Chinese, the dominant ethnic group in China, makes up for more than 90% of China's population*Overseas Chinese, people of Chinese birth or descent living outside of China, generally assumed to be part of the above Han group...
, Japanese
Japanese people

The are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan....
 and Korean ancestry. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, with 85% of the population claiming an affiliation with it. The programmed U.S. military buildup (2010-2014) will cause an unprecedented population increase (approximately 24-25% or 40,000 plus residents) which will significantly impact Guam's very limited and aging infrastructure. The official languages of the island are English and Chamorro
Chamorro language

It is an agglutinative language, grammatically allowing root words to be modified by an unlimited number of affixes. For example, masanganen?aihon "talked awhile ", passivizing prefix ma-, root verb sangan, directional suffix i "to" with excrescent consonant n, and suffix ?aihon "a short amount of time"....
.

Culture

Traditional Chamorro culture is visually manifested in dance
Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to Motion of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of Emotional expression, social social interaction or presented in a spirituality or performance setting....
, sea navigation
Navigation

Navigation is the process of reading, and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks....
, unique cuisine
Cuisine

Cuisine is a specific set of cooking traditions and practices, often associated with a specific culture. A cuisine is primarily influenced by the ingredients that are available locally or through trade....
, fishing, game
Game

A game is a structured wiktionary:activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from Manual labour, which is usually carried out for wiktionary:remuneration, and from art, which is more concerned with the expression of ideas....
s (such as batu, chonka, estuleks, and bayogu), songs and fashion
Fashion

Fashion refers to the styles and customs prevalent at a given time. In its most common usage, "fashion" exemplifies the appearances of clothing, but the term encompasses more....
 influenced by the immigration
Immigration

While the movement of people has thought throughout history at various levels, modern immigration tourism are considered non-immigrants . Immigration that violates the immigration laws of the destination country is termed illegal immigration or undocumented immigration....
 of peoples from other lands. Spanish policy during colonial rule (1668-1898) was one of conquest and conversion to Roman Catholicism. This led to the gradual elimination of Guam's male warriors and displacement of the Chamorro people from their lands. The Chamorros today have some Spanish, Mexican, and Filipino ancestry. In spite of the social upheavals, Guam's matriarchs — known as "" — continued the indigenous culture, language, and traditions. A lot of the Chamorro culture today is a spin off of Spanish, Mexican, and Filipino cultures. In fact, cockfighting, a sport that's also popular in Mexico and the Philippines, has been accepted as a cultural tradition dating back to the Spanish rule and continues to this day.

Historian Lawrence Cunningham in 1992 wrote, "In a Chamorro sense, the land and its produce belong to everyone. , or interdependence, is the key, or central value, in Chamorro culture … depends on a spirit of cooperation and sharing. This is the armature, or core, that everything in Chamorro culture revolves around. It is a powerful concern for mutuality rather than individualism
Individualism

Individualism is the Morality stance, political philosophy, or social outlook that stresses independence and self-reliance. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires, while opposing most external interference upon one's choices, whether by society, or any other group or institution....
 and private property rights."

Gadao Guam
The core culture or Pengngan Chamorro is based on complex social protocol centered upon respect: From the kissing of the hands of the elders (inspired by the kissing of a Roman Catholic bishop's ring by those whom he oversees), passing of legends, chants, and courtship
Courtship

Courtship is the traditional dating period before engagement and marriage. During a courtship, a couple dates to get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement....
 rituals, to a person requesting forgiveness from spiritual ancestors when entering a jungle or ancient battle grounds. Other practices predating Spanish conquest include galaide'
Outrigger canoe

The outrigger canoe is a type of canoe featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull ....
 canoe-making, making of the belembaotuyan (a string musical instrument made from a gourd), fashioning of slings and slingstones, tool
Tool

A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
 manufacture, burial rituals and preparation of herbal medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
s by Suruhanu
Suruhanu

Suruhanu or Suruhana are people who function as herbal healers in some Pacific island cultures. Such people exist on the island of Guam and are a result of Pre-colonial times where people known as makahna were believed to mediate between the physical and spiritual worlds....
.

Master craftsmen and women specialize in weavings, including plaited work (niyok
Coconut

The Coconut Palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaf 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth....
- and åkgak
Pandanus

Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. Plants vary in size from small shrubs less than 1 m tall, up to medium-sized trees 20 m tall, typically with a broad canopy and moderate growth rate....
-leaf baskets, mats, bags, hats, and food containments), loom
Loom

A loom is a machine or device for weaving thread or yarn into textiles. Looms can range from very small hand-held frames, to large free-standing hand looms, to huge automatic mechanical devices....
-woven material (kalachucha-hibiscus
Plumeria

Plumeria is a small genus of 7-8 species native to tropical and subtropical Americas. The genus consists of mainly deciduous shrubs and trees....
 and banana
Banana

File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
 fiber skirts, belts and burial shrouds), and body ornamentation (bead and shell necklaces, bracelets, earrings, belts and combs made from tortoise
Tortoise

Tortoises or land turtles are land-dwelling reptiles of the family of Testudinidae, order Turtle. Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell....
 shells).

The cosmopolitan nature of modern Guam poses challenges for Chamorros struggling to preserve their culture and identity amidst forces of acculturation. The increasing numbers of Chamorros, especially Chamorro youth, relocating to the U.S. Mainland has further complicated both definition and preservation of Chamorro identity. While only a few masters exist to continue traditional art forms, the resurgence of interest among the Chamorros to preserve the language and culture has resulted in a growing number of young Chamorros who seek to continue the ways of the Chamorro people.

Government and politics

Wapa New Parknet Photos
Guam is governed by a popularly elected governor
Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the Executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, a governor may be the title of each appointed or elected politician who governs a constitutive state....
 and a unicameral 15-member legislature
Legislature

Legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to create and change laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law....
, whose members are known as senators. Guam elects one non-voting delegate, currently Madeleine Z. Bordallo, to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
. U.S. citizens in Guam vote in a straw poll
Straw poll

A straw poll or straw vote is a voting with nonbinding results. Straw polls provide important interactive dialogue among movements within large groups, reflecting trends like organization and motivation....
 for their choice in the U.S. Presidential general election, but since Guam has no votes in the Electoral College
United States Electoral College

The Electoral College consists of the popularly elected representatives who formally elect the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States....
, the poll has no real effect. However, in sending delegates to the Republican and Democratic national conventions, Guam does have influence in the national presidential race, though these convention delegates are elected by local party conventions rather than voters in primaries.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a significant movement in favor of the territory becoming a commonwealth
Commonwealth (United States insular area)

In the terminology of the United States insular areas, a Commonwealth is a type of organized territory but Unincorporated territories of the United States dependent territory....
, which would give it a level of self-government similar to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a Autonomy Territories of the United States of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands....
 and the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands , officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean....
. However, the federal government rejected the version of a commonwealth that the government of Guam proposed, due to it having clauses incompatible with the Territorial Clause (Art. IV, Sec. 3, cl. 2) of the U.S. Constitution. Competing movements with less significant influence exist which advocate political independence from the United States, statehood, union with the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands , officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean....
 as a single territory, or union with the current U.S. state of Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
.

Villages and military bases

Guam is divided into municipalities commonly called village
Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or Residential community, larger than a hamlet , but smaller than a town or city. Though generally located in rural areas, the term urban village may be applied to certain urban area neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in Beirut, Lebanon....
s: Agana Heights
Agana Heights, Guam

Agana Heights is one of the 19 villages of Guam. It lies in the hills south of Hag?t?a , in the central part of the island. The U.S. Naval Hospital is located in this largely residential village....
, Agat
Agat, Guam

Agat is a Villages of Guam on the island of Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located south of Apra Harbor on the island's western shore....
, Asan-Maina
Asan, Guam

Asan is a Villages of Guam located on the western shore of the U.S. territory of Guam. The municipality of Asan-Maina combines Asan with Maina, a community in the hills to the east....
, Barrigada
Barrigada, Guam

Barrigada is a municipality in central Guam. A largely residential municipality, its main village is located south of the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport near the intersections of Routes 8, 10, and 16....
, Chalan-Pago-Ordot, Dededo
Dededo, Guam

Dededo is the most populous Villages of Guam of the American island of Guam. According to the U.S. census bureau estimates, Dededo's population was 46,000 in 2004....
, Hagåtña
Hagåtña, Guam

Hag?t?a , formerly Agana and in Spanish language Aga?a, is the Capital of the American island territory of Guam. It is the island's second smallest Villages of Guam in both area and population....
, Inarajan
Inarajan, Guam

Inarajan is a Villages of Guam located on the Southeastern coast of the American island of Guam. The village's original name in Chamorro, Inal?han, was altered when transliterated during Spain's rule of the island....
, Mangilao
Mangilao, Guam

Mangilao is a Villages of Guam on the eastern shore of the American island of Guam.Cliffs lie along much of the village's shoreline providing dramatic views, but few beaches for recreation....
, Merizo
Merizo, Guam

Merizo, also known as Malesso, is the southernmost municipality in Guam, a U.S. territory. Cocos Island is part of the municipality....
, Mongmong-Toto-Maite
Mongmong-Toto-Maite, Guam

Mongmong-Toto-Maite is a municipality in Guam. It is comprised of three separate villages east of Hag?t?a that experienced development after World War II....
, Piti
Piti, Guam

Piti is a Villages of Guam located on the western shore of Guam. It contains the Apra Harbor at Apra Harbor as well as several of the island?s largest power plants....
, Santa Rita
Santa Rita, Guam

Santa Rita is a village located on the Southwest Coast of Guam with hills overlooking Apra Harbor. According to the United States Census Bureau it has a population of 7,500, down from 11,857 in 1990....
, Sinajana
Sinajana, Guam

Sinajana is one of the 19 Villages of Guam. It is located in the hills south of Hag?t?a . The villages name may have come from the word "china-jan," cookware used to cook wild yams that once grew in the area....
, Talofofo
Talofofo, Guam

Talofofo is a village located in the southern part of the American island of Guam on the east coast. The village center is located in the hills above the coast, while the smaller coastal community below the cliff is known as Ipan....
, Tamuning
Tamuning, Guam

Tamuning is a municipality or "Villages of Guam" located on the western shore of the island of Guam. The village of Tamuning can be viewed as the economic center of Guam, containing Tumon , Harmon Industrial Park, and commercial districts in other parts of the municipality....
, Umatac
Umatac, Guam

Umatac is a Villages of Guam on the south-western coast of the island of Guam. The village's name is believed to be derived from the Chamorro word "Umatalaf" meaning to catch guatifi, a type of fish....
, Yigo
Yigo, Guam

Yigo is the northern most Villages of Guam of the American Island of Guam and is the site of Andersen Air Force Base. The municipality of Yigo is larger than any other on the island....
, Yona
Yona, Guam

Yona is a Villages of Guam on the east coast of Guam....
.

The U.S. military maintains jurisdiction over its bases, which cover approximately , or 29% of the island's total land area:

  • U.S. Naval Base Guam, U.S. Navy – Sumay
  • U.S. Coast Guard District 14 Sector Guam, – Sumay
  • Andersen Air Force Base
    Andersen Air Force Base

    Andersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base on the northern end of the island of Guam, largely within the village of Yigo, Guam but also stretching into Dededo, Guam....
    , U.S. Air Force – Yigo
  • Apra Harbor
    Apra Harbor

    Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. It serves both as a United States Navy station and a commercial port, which handles about 2 million tons of cargo a year ....
    , U.S. Navy – Orote peninsula
  • Ordnance Annex
    Ordnance Annex

    Ordnance Annex is the name of a US military base situated on the Island of Guam, which used to be known as Naval Magazine, Guam. The base is situated on the south-central section of the island and occupies an area of 8,800 acres....
    , U.S. Navy – South Central Highlands (formerly known as Naval Magazine)
  • Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, U.S. Navy – Barrigada and Finegayan
  • Joint Force Headquarters-Guam, Guam National Guard
    Guam National Guard

    Guam National Guard is the National Guard of the Territory of Guam, made up of the Guam Army National Guard and the Guam Air National Guard.The National Guard of the United States is the oldest component of the Armed Forces and one of the nation?s longest-enduring institutions....
     – Radio Barrigada and Fort Juan Muna


Economy

Guam's economy depends primarily on tourism, Department of Defense installations, and locally owned businesses. Although Guam receives no foreign aid, it does receive large transfer payments from the general revenues of the U.S. federal treasury
United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an United States federal executive departments and the treasury of the United States Federal government of the United States....
 into which Guam pays no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
, the Guam treasury, rather than the U.S. treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by local taxpayers to include military and civilian federal employees assigned to Guam.

America in Asia

Commonly referred to as "America in Asia", Guam is a popular destination for Japanese tourists, and with over 20 large hotels, a Duty Free Shoppers Galleria, Pleasure Island district, indoor aquarium, Sandcastle Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment....
–styled shows and other shopping and entertainment features in its chief tourism city of Tumon
Tumon

Tumon is an area located on the west coast of the American Island of Guam. Located in the municipality of Tamuning, it is the center of Guam's tourist industry....
. It is a relatively short flight from Asia or Australia compared to Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
, with hotels and ten golf courses catering to over a million tourists per year. Although 90 percent of tourists are Japanese, Guam receives a respectable number of tourists from South Korea, Philippines, and Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
. Significant sources of revenue include duty-free designer shopping outlets, and the American-style malls: Micronesia Mall
Micronesia Mall

Micronesia Mall, located in Dededo, is the largest shopping center on the island of Guam.A mix between an outlet mall and an indoor, American-style shopping mall, Micronesia Mall's sole anchor is Macy's, which is also the only Macy's store west of Hawaii....
, Guam Premier Outlets
Guam Premier Outlets

Guam Premier Outlets or GPO - is a Shopping mall located in Tamuning in Guam. GPO is the only known outlet mall in Guam. The mall is located minutes away from Tumon Bay and Hagatna....
, and the Agana Shopping Center
Agana Shopping Center

Agana Shopping Center is a Shopping mall located in downtown Hag?t?a, Guam, Guam. It opened in 1978. The mall is one of numerous malls on Guam. Main competitors include Micronesia Mall, Guam's largest shopping mall and Guam Premier Outlets in Tamuning....
.

The economy had been stable since 2000 due to increased tourism, mainly from Japan, but took a recent downturn along with most of Asia. It is expected to stabilize well ahead of the U.S. Marine Corps' 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, currently in Okinawa (appr. 8000 Marines, along with their 10,000 dependents), transfer to Guam between 2010–2014 but will cause an unprecedented 25% increase in the island's overall population. The programmed buildup by the Department of Defense on Guam is being categorized as the largest military buildup in the history of the United States military. Guam has a 14% unemployment rate, and the government suffered a $314 million shortfall in 2003.

The Compacts of Free Association
Compact of Free Association

The Compact of Free Association defines the relationship that three sovereign states?the Federated States of Micronesia , the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau?have entered into as associated states with the United States....
 between the United States, the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Papua New Guinea. The country is a sovereign state in Associated state with the United States....
, the Republic of the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands , officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands , is a Micronesian island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator....
 and the Republic of Palau
Palau

Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an borderless country in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles south of Tokyo....
 accorded the former entities of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from July 18, 1947, comprising the former South Pacific Mandate, a League of Nations Mandate administered by Empire of Japan and taken by the U.S....
 a political status of "free association" with the United States. The Compacts give citizens of these island nations generally no restrictions to reside in the United States (also its territories), and many were attracted to Guam due to its proximity, environmental, and cultural familiarity. Over the years, it was claimed by some in Guam that the territory has had to bear the brunt of this agreement in the form of public assistance programs and public education for those from the regions involved, and the federal government should compensate the states and territories affected by this type of migration. Over the years, Congress had appropriated "Compact Impact" aids to Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands , officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean....
 and Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
, and eventually this appropriation was written into each renewed Compact. Some, however, continue to claim the compensation is not enough or that the distribution of actual compensation received is significantly disproportionate.

Transportation and communications

Most of the island has state of the art mobile phone services while digital cable and high speed internet are now widely available through either cable or DSL. Guam was added to the North American Numbering Plan (NANP)
North American Numbering Plan

The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan of 24 countries and territories: the United States and its Insular area, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 of the Caribbean countries....
 in 1997 (country code 671 became NANP area code 671
Area code 671

The area code 671 is the local telephone area code of Guam. It was created in 1997 replacing Guam's previous country code, 671....
), removing the barrier of high cost international long-distance calls to the U.S. Mainland.

As Guam is also part of the U.S. Postal System ("state" code: GU, ZIP code range: 96910–96932), mail to Guam from the U.S. mainland is considered domestic and no additional charges are required. Private shipping companies, such as UPS, DHL or FedEx, however, have no obligation to and do not regard Guam as domestic. The speed of mail traveling between Guam and the states varies depending on size. Light, first-class items generally take less than a week to or from the mainland, but larger first-class or Priority items can take a week or two. Fourth-class mail, such as magazines, are transported by surface after reaching Hawaii. Most residents use post office boxes or private mail boxes
Commercial mail receiving agency

A commercial mail receiving agency , also known as a mail drop, typically operates as a Private Mail Box Operator.A customer of a CMRA can receive mail and other deliveries at the Address of the CMRA rather than the customer's own street address....
, although residential delivery is becoming increasingly available. Incoming mail not from the Americas should be addressed to "Guam" instead of "USA" to avoid being routed the long way through the U.S. mainland and possibly charged a higher rate (especially from Asia).

The Commercial Port of Guam is the island's lifeline since just about every product must be shipped into Guam for its consumers. The Port is also the regional transhipment hub for over 500,000 customers throughout the Micronesian region. The Port also is the shipping and receiving point for containers designated for the island's DoD installations, Andersen Air Force Base and Commander, Naval Forces Marianas and eventually the Third Marine Expeditionary Force.

Guam is served by the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport
Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport

Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport , also known as Guam International Airport, is an airport located in Tamuning and Barrigada, three miles east of the capital city of Hag?t?a, Guam in the Insular area of Guam....
, which is a regional hub for Continental Micronesia
Continental Micronesia

Continental Micronesia, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary airline of Continental Airlines. It operates daily flights to Honolulu, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of operations at Antonio B....
. The island is outside the United States customs zone and maintains its own customs agency and jurisdiction. Therefore, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing hundreds of U.S....
 only carries immigration (but not customs) functions for incoming flights. Since Guam is under federal immigration jurisdiction, passengers arriving directly from the States skip immigration and directly proceed to customs. However, due to the Guam-only visa waiver program for certain Asian tourists, an eligibility pre-clearance check is carried on Guam for flights to the States. For travel to and from the Northern Mariana Islands (which are outside of U.S. immigration jurisdiction), a full inspection is performed though American citizens do not need a passport. Traveling between Guam and the States through a foreign point (for example, a Japanese airport), however, requires a passport.

Most residents travel within Guam using personally owned vehicles. The local government currently outsources the only public bus system (Guam Mass Transit Authority), and some commercial companies operated buses between tourist-frequented locations.

Ecological issues

Guam exemplifies the effects of bioinvasion
Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically....
.

The brown tree snake

Snake Browntree
Thought to be a stowaway
Stowaway

File:Chinasmuggle lg.jpgA stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an fixed-wing aircraft, bus, ship or train, in order to travel without paying and without being detected....
 on a U.S. military transport near the end of World War II, the slightly venomous—but rather harmless—brown tree snake
Brown tree snake

The Brown tree snake is an arboreal colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, Papua New Guinea, and a large number of islands in northwestern Melanesia....
 (Boiga irregularis) came to Guam and killed virtually all of the native bird population on an island that has no native species of snake; this snake has no natural predators on the island. Although some studies have suggested a high density of the brown tree snake, residents rarely see these nocturnal snakes. Prodigious climbers, the snakes cause frequent blackouts by shorting across lines and transformers.

Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle

An infestation of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros, was detected on Guam on September 12, 2007. CRB is not known to occur in the United States except in American Samoa
American Samoa

American Samoa is an Territories of the United States of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa....
. Delimiting surveys performed September 13-25, 2007 indicated that the infestation was limited to Tumon Bay and Faifai Beach, an area of approximately . Guam Department of Agriculture (GDA) placed quarantine on all properties within the Tumon area on October 5 and later expanded the quarantine to about on October 25; approximately radius in all directions from all known locations of CRB infestation. CRB is native to Southern Asia and distributed throughout Asia and the Western Pacific including Sri Lanka, Upolu, Western Samoa, American Samoa, Palau Islands, New Britain, West Irian, New Ireland, Pak Island and Manus Island (New Guinea), Fiji, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Mauritius, and Reunion.

Adults are the injurious stage of the insect. They are generally night-time fliers and when they alight on a host, they chew down into the folded, emerging fronds of coconut palms to feed on sap. V-shaped cuts in the fronds and holes through the midrib are visible when the leaves grow out and unfold. If the growing tip is injured, the palm may be killed or severe loss of leaf tissue may cause decreased nut set. Feeding wounds may also serve as an infection pathway for pathogens or other pests. The effects of adult boring may be more severe on younger palms where spears are narrower. Mortality of young palms has already been observed on Guam. Oviposition and larval development typically occurs in decaying coconut logs or stumps.

Control measures have been developed for CRB and the current strategy on Guam is to implement an integrated eradication program using pheromone-baited, attractive traps to capture adults, various methods to eliminate infested and susceptible host material, and pesticides to kill larvae and adults. Pesticides may also be applied to uninfested trees as a preventive treatment. USDA-APHIS has completed an Environmental Assessment for the coconut rhinoceros beetle eradication program on Guam (EA Number: GU-08-1, http://www.guaminsects.net/uogces/kbwiki/images/d/dc/CRB_EA.pdf). The eradication program is a cooperative effort between USDA (APHIS and Forest Service), GDA and the University of Guam (UOG). This document follows the Forest Service Pest Risk Assessment (Kliejunas et al. 2001)format and is intended to provide information regarding the current status of CRB on Guam, its potential to spread to uninfested locales, and the consequences of establishment. The high, moderate or low riskvalues are based on available biological information and the subjective judgment of the authors.

Other invasive animal species

Marine Toad Bufo Marinus Usgs Photograph
From the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, the Spanish introduced pigs, dogs, chickens, the Philippine deer (Cervus mariannus), black francolin
Black Francolin

The Black Francolin, Francolinus francolinus, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds....
s, and water buffalo. Water buffalo, known as carabao
Carabao

The carabao or Bubalus bubalis carabanesis is a domesticated subspecies of the Domestic buffalo found in the Philippines, Guam, and various parts of Southeast Asia....
 locally, have cultural significance. Herds of these animals obstruct military base operations and harm native ecosystems. After birth control and adoption efforts were ineffective, the U.S. military began euthanizing the herds in 2002 leading to organized protests from island residents.

Other introduced species include cane toads imported in 1937, the giant African snail
Giant African snail

The East African land snail, or "giant African land snail", scientific name Achatina fulica, is a species of large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial animal pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae....
 (an agricultural pest introduced during WWII by Japanese occupation troops) and more recently frog species which could threaten crops in addition to providing additional food for the brown tree snake
Brown tree snake

The Brown tree snake is an arboreal colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, Papua New Guinea, and a large number of islands in northwestern Melanesia....
 population. Reports of loud chirping frogs native to the Caribbean
Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
 and known as coquí, that may have arrived from Hawaii, have led to fears that the noise could threaten Guam's tourism.

Introduced feral pigs and deer, over-hunting, and habitat loss from human development are also major factors in the decline and loss of Guam's native plants and animals.

Threats to indigenous plants

Invading animal species are not the only threat to Guam's native flora. Tinangaja, a virus
Plant virus

Plant viruses are viruses affecting plants.Plant viruses, like all other viruses, are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without the host....
 affecting coconut palms, was first observed on the island in 1917 when copra
Copra

Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. The name copra is derived from the Malayalam language word kopra for dried coconut....
 production was still a major part of Guam's economy. Though coconut plantations no longer exist on the island, the dead and infected trees that have resulted from the epidemic are seen throughout the forests of Guam. Also during the past century, the dense forests of northern Guam have been largely replaced by thick tangan tangan brush (Leucaena
Leucaena

Leucaena is a genus of about 24 species of leguminous trees and shrubs, distributed from Texas in the United States to Peru. It belongs to subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae....
-native to the Americas). Much of Guam's foliage was lost during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. In 1947, the U.S. military introduced tangan tangan by seeding the island from the air to prevent erosion
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
. In southern Guam, non-native grass species also dominate much of the landscape.

Wildfires

Guam Grassland
Wildfire
Wildfire

A wildfire is any uncontrolled, non-structure fire that occurs in the wilderness, wildland, or The Bush. Synonyms such as wildland fire, forest fire, brush fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, Peat#Fires, bushfire , and hill fire are commonly used....
s plague the forested ("boonie" or "jungle") areas of Guam every dry season
Dry season

The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillation from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year....
 despite the island's humid climate. Most fires are man-caused with 80 percent resulting from arson
Arson

Arson is the crime of deliberately and maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires caused by lightning for example....
. Poachers
Poaching

Poaching is the illegal hunting, fishing or eating of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international Conservation and wildlife management laws....
 often start fires to attract deer to the new growth. Invasive grass species that rely on fire as part of their natural life cycle grow in many regularly burned areas. Grassland
Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found....
s and "barrens" have replaced previously forested areas leading to greater soil erosion
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
. During the rainy season sediment is carried by the heavy rains into the Fena Lake
Fena Lake

Fena Lake is the largest lake on the island of Guam. It is located in the south of the island, and is overlooked by the nearby peaks of Mount Lamlam, Mount Alifan and Mount Jumullong....
 Reservoir and Ugum River leading to water quality problems for southern Guam. Eroded silt also destroys the marine life in reefs around the island. Soil stabilization efforts by volunteers and forestry workers to plant trees have had little success in preserving natural habitats.

Aquatic preserves

As a vacation spot for scuba divers, efforts have been made to protect Guam's coral reef habitats from pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
, eroded silt
Silt

Silt is soil or Rock derived granular material of a Particle size between sand and clay. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body....
, and overfishing
Overfishing

Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
 that have led to decreased fish populations. In recent years the Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources has established several new marine preserves where fish populations are monitored by biologists. Prior to adopting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency? standards, portions of Tumon bay were dredged by the hotel chains in order to provide a better experience for hotel guests. Tumon Bay has since been made into a preserve. A federal Guam National Wildlife Refuge in northern Guam protects the decimated sea turtle
Sea turtle

Sea turtles are turtles found in all the world's oceans except the Arctic Ocean. There are seven living species of sea turtles: Flatback Sea Turtle, Green Sea Turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Kemp's Ridley, leatherback sea turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and Olive Ridley Sea Turtle....
 population in addition to a small colony of Mariana fruit bats.

 
Reef fish of Guam


Education


Colleges and universities

The University of Guam
University of Guam

University of Guam is a four-year land-grant institution, located in the village of Mangilao, Guam on the island of Guam in the Western Pacific Ocean....
, and Guam Community College
Guam Community College

Guam Community College is a two-year college located in Mangilao, Guam, United States. It was created by public law in 1977....
, both fully-accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the School accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin....
, offer courses in higher education.

Primary and secondary schools

The Guam Public School System
Guam Public School System

Guam Public School System , formerly the Guam Department of Education, is a school district that serves the entire island of Guam, a United States insular area....
 serves the entire island of Guam. In 2000, 32,000 students attended Guam's public schools. Guam Public Schools have struggled with problems such as high dropout rates and poor test scores. Guam's educational system has always faced unique challenges as a small community located from the U.S. mainland with a very diverse student body including many students who come from backgrounds without traditional American education. An economic downturn in Guam since the mid-1990s has compounded the problems in schools.

Prior to September 1997, the U.S. Department of Defense partnered with Guam Board of Education. In September 1997 the DoDEA opened its own schools for children of military personnel. DoDEA
Department of Defense Education Activity

The Department of Defense Education Activity is a civilian agency of the United States Department of Defense. It is headed by a director who oversees all agency functions from DoDEA headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia....
 schools, which also serve children of some federal civilian employees, had an attendance of 2,500 in 2000. DoDEA Guam operates three elementary/middle schools and one high school.

Public libraries

Guam Public Library System
Guam Public Library System

Guam Public Library System is the public library system of Guam, a United States territory.The main library is the Nieves M. Flores Memorial Library at 254 Martyr Street in Hag?t?a....
 operates the Nieves M. Flores Memorial Library in Hagåtña and five branch libraries.

Health care

The Government of Guam maintains Guam Memorial Hospital in Tamuning
Tamuning, Guam

Tamuning is a municipality or "Villages of Guam" located on the western shore of the island of Guam. The village of Tamuning can be viewed as the economic center of Guam, containing Tumon , Harmon Industrial Park, and commercial districts in other parts of the municipality....
. In addition the U.S. Naval Hospital is located in Agana Heights
Agana Heights, Guam

Agana Heights is one of the 19 villages of Guam. It lies in the hills south of Hag?t?a , in the central part of the island. The U.S. Naval Hospital is located in this largely residential village....
.

See also



External links


Government
  • [https://www.drt.guam.gov/ Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation]


General information
  • A Guam History resource--virtual textbook, virtual workbook and more
  • from the Guam Humanities Council and the University of Guam
  • from the U.S. Library of Congress
    Library of Congress

    The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books....
  • - Guam directory and internet portal.


News media


Military and history


Travel


Invasive species
  • (info from the )
  • from the  Guam Chamber of ..")