Samoan Islands

Coordinates: 14°16′S 171°12′W / 14.267°S 171.200°W / -14.267; -171.200
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Samoa (disambiguation).
Samoan Islands
Native name:
Motu o Sāmoa
Mauga Silisili
Administration
Largest settlementApia (pop. 38,800)
American Samoa
Largest settlementTafuna (pop. 9,756)
Demographics
Population249,839 (2012)

The Samoan Islands (

Tokelau Islands
). The land masses of the two Samoan jurisdictions are separated by 64 km (40 mi) of ocean at their closest points.

The population of the Samoan Islands is approximately 250,000.

fa'amatai.[2] Samoans are one of the largest Polynesian populations in the world, and most are of exclusively Samoan ancestry.[3]

The oldest known evidence of human activity in the Samoan Islands dates to around 1050 BCE. It comes from a

Lapita site at Mulifanua wharf on Upolu island.[4] In 1768, the eastern islands were visited by the French explorer Bougainville, who named them the Navigator Islands. That name was used by missionaries until about 1845, and in official European dispatches until about 1870.[5]

Samoa and American Samoa

German, British and American warships in Apia harbour, 1899.

Politically, the Samoan Islands are divided into two jurisdictions:[1]

Political partition

In the late 19th century, competition for political control of the islands between the

United Nations Trust Territory from 1946 to 1962. The force that eventually led to the political independence of the western islands in 1962 was the pro-independence Mau movement, which gained popularity across the area. The eastern islands remain a political territory of the United States.[8]

Islands

Main article: Geography of Samoa

The Samoan Islands has total of 18 islands spread 3,030 km2 (1,170 sq mi) in a west to east direction.[9][10][11]

Samoa

Map of Samoa

The islands of Manono, Apolima and Nuʻulopa lie in the Apolima Strait between Upolu and Savaiʻi. The four small, uninhabited islands - Nuʻutele, Nuʻulua, Namua and Fanuatapu - are situated off the east coast of Upolu and comprise the Aleipata Islands.[10]

Map of American Samoa

American Samoa

  • Tutuila: population 48,405 (per 2020 census); main island in the territory.
  • Pola Island: unpopulated; part of the National Park of American Samoa.
  • Aunu'u
    : population 473 (per 2020 census); located southeast of Tutuila.
  • Swains Island: unpopulated (per 2020 census); politically administered by American Samoa, but culturally part of Tokelau; copra plantation.
  • Ofu‑Olosega: volcanic doublet encompassing Ofu (population 132, per 2020 census) and Olosega (population 147, per 2020 census); in the Manu'a Group of islands.
  • Manu'a Group
  • hawksbill turtle
    .

Location

matai), c. 1890–1910. (photo by Thomas Andrew
)

The islands are approximately 800 km (500 mi) from Fiji, 530 km (330 mi) from Tonga, 2,900 km (1,800 mi) from New Zealand, and 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from Hawaii, U.S.[10]

The islands lie between 13° and 14° south latitude and 169° and 173° west longitude, and span an area of about 480 km (300 mi) from west to east.[10]

The larger islands are

coral atolls with black sand beaches.[14][15]

Highest points

The highest point in Samoa is Mt.

Ta’u, Lata Mountain, at 966 m (3,169 ft).[17]
: 3 

Landmass

Rakiura, and the two main islands of Fiji and the Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui.[10] The island of Upolu has more inhabitants than the island of Savai'i does.[9]

The next largest island is Tutuila, where the city and harbor of Pago Pago (with a population of 3,519 in 1990) is located. Tutuila is much smaller than Upolu and Savai‘i, at 136.2 km2 (52.6 sq mi) in area, but it is the largest island in American Samoa.[11] The highest point on Tutuila is Matafao Peak.[19]

Smaller islands in the archipelago include the three islets (

Ta’u. An uninhabited coral atoll, Rose Atoll, is the southernmost point in the territory of the United States. Another coral atoll, Swains Island, is within the territory of American Samoa but is geographically distant from the Samoan archipelago.[11]

Time zone

See also: Time in Samoa and Samoa Time Zone

In 1892, the Samoan islands shifted to the eastern side of the

American Independence Day, was likely due to increasing trade with Americans. The islands would be on the same day as the United States.[22]

By 2011, the government of independent Samoa decided to shift back to the western side in order to have the same day as Australia and New Zealand. Being one day behind these countries, Samoa's primary trading partners, left only four business days in a week. The shift was implemented by skipping Friday, December 30; workers were paid for this "missed" day. Neighboring Tokelau shifted as well on this day.[22]

Geology

Diagram showing how islands are formed by hotspots

The

Ta'u Island, the most eastern, both erupted in the last century.[23] For another thing, the subaerial rock samples initially collected from Savai'i, the westernmost of the islands, are too young by several million years to fit the classic hotspot model of age progression in an island chain. These facts led some scientists to suggest that the Samoa islands were not formed by the hotspot plume. One possible explanation for the inconsistency of the data with the hotspot formation theory is the fact that the island chain lies just north of the Tonga Trench. An alternative theory is that the islands were formed by magma seeping through cracks in stressed fracture zones. However, in 2005, an international team found new evidence that supports the hotspot model. They gathered additional samples from Savai'i — submarine samples from the deep flanks and rifts of the island. Tests found that these samples are much older than the previously collected samples: They are about five million years old, an age that fits the hotspot model.[24]

2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami

Tonga Trench south of the Samoa Islands and north of New Zealand.

The

largest earthquake of 2009.[26]

Vailulu'u Seamount

The

Vailulu'u Seamount
, an active submerged volcano, lies 45 km (28 mi) east of Ta'u in American Samoa. It was discovered in 1975 and has since been studied by an international team of scientists, contributing towards understanding of the Earth's fundamental processes.[27] Growing inside the summit crater of Vailulu'u is an active underwater volcanic cone, named after Samoa's goddess of war, Nafanua.[28]

Climate

The Samoan climate is tropical, with a rainy season from November to April. The island group is frequently hit by tropical cyclones between December and March, due to its position in the South Pacific Ocean.[29]

Gallery

  • Samoa Islands
  • Mt Matavanu volcanic eruption on Savai'i island, 1905
    Savai'i
    island, 1905
  • Afono village, Tutuila island, American Samoa.
    Afono village, Tutuila
    island, American Samoa.
  • Aunu'u island, offshore of the island of Tutuila, American Samoa
    Aunu'u
    island, offshore of the island of Tutuila, American Samoa
  • A beach on Ofu-Olosega, a volcanic doublet in the Manu'a Group of islands.
    A beach on Ofu-Olosega, a volcanic doublet in the Manu'a Group of islands.
  • Fuipisia waterfall in Lotofaga, Upolu island.
    Fuipisia waterfall in Lotofaga, Upolu island.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Cultures of Polynesia - Polynesian Cultural Center". polynesia.com. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  2. ISBN 982-02-0012-1
    . Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  3. ISBN 1-56691-411-6
    . Retrieved 20 June 2010. Samoans full blooded Polynesian percentage.
  4. ^ "New Information for the Ferry Berth Site, Mulifanua, Western Samoa by Roger C. Green & Helen M. Leach". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 98 (3): 1989. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  5. ^ Masterman, Sylvia (1934). The Origins of International Rivalry in Samoa: 1845–1884. George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London. p. 14.
  6. ^ Ryden, George Herbert. The Foreign Policy of the United States in Relation to Samoa. New York: Octagon Books, 1975. (Reprint by special arrangement with Yale University Press. Originally published at New Haven: Yale University Press, 1928), p. 574. The Tripartite Convention (United States, Germany, Great Britain) was signed at Washington on December 2, 1899, with ratifications exchanged on February 16, 1900.
  7. ^ date of ratification by the League of Nations was 10 January 1920; Class C mandates were designed for populations considered incapable of self-government
  8. ^ "The rise of the Mau movement". NZ History online. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Demographic Yearbook—Table 3: Population by sex, rate of population increase, surface area and density" (PDF). United Nations Statistics Division. 2010.
  10. ^ a b c d e Robert, Kiste (1993–2002). Samoa: Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. 60210-442-1635445-74407.
  11. ^ a b c American Samoa, World Atlas: Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. 1993–2002. 60210-442-1635445-74407.
  12. ^ "Census 2016 Preliminary count" (PDF). Samoa Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  13. ^ "issg Database: Distribution Details for Rattus exulans".
  14. ^ "Insular Area Summary for American Samoa". U.S. Department of the Interior. April 6, 2010. Archived from the original on October 9, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  15. ^ "Background: Volcanic Islands and Seamounts in the Samoan Region". NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  16. ISBN 0-691-02399-9
    .
  17. ISBN 978-1573062992
    .
  18. ^ Craig, P. (ed.). "Natural History Guide to American Samoa" (PDF). National Park of American Samoa, Department Marine and Wildlife Resources, American Samoa Community College. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  19. ^ "Matafao Peak, AS". National Park Service. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Samoa an Overview". donbosco.asn.au. Archived from the original on 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  21. ^ "Going Back 24 Hours". Evening News. 1892-07-20. Retrieved 2022-07-03 – via NLA.
  22. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  23. ^ Lippsett, Laurence (3 September 2009). "Voyage to Vailulu'u". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  24. Bibcode:2006AGUFM.V34B..02K
    .
  25. ^ "Magnitude 8.1 – SAMOA ISLANDS REGION". earthquake.usgs.gov. 2009-09-29. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  26. ^ "National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC)". Neic.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  27. doi:10.1029/2000GC000108
    .
  28. PMID 16614067
    .
  29. ^ "Samoa: Climate". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007-11-26.

External links

14°16′S 171°12′W / 14.267°S 171.200°W / -14.267; -171.200

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