Pago Pago ( in English, but by native Samoan speakers, or
Pango Pango, is the capital of
American SamoaAmerican Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa . The main island is Tutuila, with the Manua Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory...
. Its 2000 population was 11,500. The village is located in
Pago Pago Harbor, on the island of
TutuilaTutuila is the main or largest island of American Samoa, and the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain. The island is distinctive in the Central Pacific for its large, natural harbor—Pago Pago Harbor—on which the capital of American Samoa, Pago Pago, is located.The area of...
.
TourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
, entertainment, food, and
tunaTuna are ocean-dwelling carnivorous fish in the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers—they have been clocked at —and include several warm-blooded species...
canning are the primary industries here. From 1878 to 1951, this was a coaling and repair station for the
U.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
.
Pago Pago is one of the several villages in the
Urban agglomeration of Pago Pago along the shore of
Pago Pago HarborPago Pago Harbor is a large natural inlet in the central south coast of the island of Tutuila in American Samoa. The capital, Pago Pago is located on the inner reaches of the harbor, close to its northwesternmost point....
located at the very eastern part (inside) of the embayment.
Pago Pago ( in English, but by native Samoan speakers, or
Pango Pango, is the capital of
American SamoaAmerican Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa . The main island is Tutuila, with the Manua Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory...
. Its 2000 population was 11,500. The village is located in
Pago Pago Harbor, on the island of
TutuilaTutuila is the main or largest island of American Samoa, and the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain. The island is distinctive in the Central Pacific for its large, natural harbor—Pago Pago Harbor—on which the capital of American Samoa, Pago Pago, is located.The area of...
.
TourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
, entertainment, food, and
tunaTuna are ocean-dwelling carnivorous fish in the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers—they have been clocked at —and include several warm-blooded species...
canning are the primary industries here. From 1878 to 1951, this was a coaling and repair station for the
U.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
.
Pago Pago is one of the several villages in the
Urban agglomeration of Pago Pago along the shore of
Pago Pago HarborPago Pago Harbor is a large natural inlet in the central south coast of the island of Tutuila in American Samoa. The capital, Pago Pago is located on the inner reaches of the harbor, close to its northwesternmost point....
located at the very eastern part (inside) of the embayment. The area includes a number of villages, among them
FagatogoFagatogo is situated on Tutuila Island, Pago Pago Harbour. Population is 2096. Some have mistakenly cited Fagatogo as the capital due to the fact that is listed in the Constitution of American Samoa as the official seat of government....
, the legislative and judicial area, and
UtuleiUtulei is a village in American Samoa. Located there are the governor's office and the Rainmaker Hotel.-External links:*...
, the executive area (
1).
However, because the name
Pago Pago is associated with the harbor itself - the only significant
port of callPort of Call is a 1948 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman.-Synopsis:Berit, a suicidal young woman living in a working-class port town, unexpectedly falls for Gösta, a sailor on leave...
in American Samoa -
Pago Pago is now generally applied not only to the village itself, but to the whole harbor area and to the villages in it. It is in this sense that Pago Pago becomes the
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established"...
capital town of American Samoa.
Pago Pago is a mixture of colorful semi-urban communities, a small town, tuna canneries (which provide employment for a third of the population of Tutuila) and a harbor surrounded by dramatic cliffs, which plunge almost straight into the sea. A climb to the summit of Mt. Alava (see
National Park of American SamoaThe National Park of American Samoa is a national park on the American territory of American Samoa, distributed across three separate islands: Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega, and Ta‘ū. The park includes coral reefs and rain forest and is popular for hiking, snorkeling, and scuba diving, although the primary...
) provides a magnificent bird's-eye view of the harbor and town.
In January 1942
Pago Pago HarborPago Pago Harbor is a large natural inlet in the central south coast of the island of Tutuila in American Samoa. The capital, Pago Pago is located on the inner reaches of the harbor, close to its northwesternmost point....
was shelled by a
JapaneseThe Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the...
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...
, but this remained the only action on the islands during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Until 1980, one could experience the view from the peak by taking an
aerial tramwayAn aerial tramway or cable car is a type of aerial lift in which a cabin or other conveyance is suspended from a fixed cable and is pulled by another cable....
over the harbor, but on April 17 (
2) of that year a U.S. Navy plane, flying overhead as part of the
Flag DayA flag day is a flag-related holiday—either a day designated for flying a certain flag , or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag....
celebrations, struck the cable; the plane crashed into a wing of the Rainmaker Hotel. The tram remains unusable, although according to
Lonely PlanetLonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. Originally called Lonely Planet Publications, the company changed its name to Lonely Planet in July 2009 to reflect its broad travel industry offering and the emphasis on digital products...
, plans have been put forth to reopen it. Less spectacular, but worth the drive, is the view from the top of the pass above Aua Village on the road to
AfonoAfono is a village on the northeast coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. One of the island's more populous villages, it is located on the edge of Afono Bay, at the eastern edge of the National Park of American Samoa...
.
Both the port itself and the legislature of American Samoa — known as the "
FonoThe Fono or Legislative Assembly is the parliament of Samoa. "Fono" is a Samoan and Polynesian term for councils great and small. It applies to national assemblies and legislatures, as well as local village councils. The Samoan Fono has 49 members. 47 members are matais , elected in six two-seat...
" — are in Fagatogo, a village adjacent to Pago Pago. Similarly, the once famous Rainmaker Hotel (now closed) is in the village of
Utule‘iUtulei is a village in American Samoa. Located there are the governor's office and the Rainmaker Hotel.-External links:*...
, adjacent to Fagatogo along the south shore of the long harbor. The canneries are in Atu‘u, on the harbor's north shore. It is suggested that one must avoid eating any fish or invertebrate caught in Pago Pago Harbor because they are contaminated with heavy metals and other pollutants.
2009 Tsunami
On September 29, 2009, an
earthquakeThe 2009 Samoa earthquake was an 8.0 Mw submarine earthquake that took place in the Samoan Islands region at 06:48:11 local time on . It is the largest earthquake so far in 2009....
struck in the
South PacificOceania is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d'Urville...
, near
SamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa , is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai'i...
and
American SamoaAmerican Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa . The main island is Tutuila, with the Manua Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory...
, sending a
tsunamiA is a series of water waves that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean. The original Japanese term literally translates as "harbor wave." Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded...
into Pago Pago and surrounding areas. The tsunami caused damage ranging from moderate to severe to villages, buildings and vehicles and caused an unknown number of deaths.
External links