Sarigan
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates | 16°42′N 145°47′E / 16.700°N 145.783°E |
Archipelago | Northern Mariana Islands |
Area | 4.9 km2 (1.9 sq mi)[1] |
Length | 2.7 km (1.68 mi) |
Width | 2.5 km (1.55 mi) |
Highest elevation | 538 m (1765 ft) |
Administration | |
United States | |
Commonwealth | Northern Mariana Islands |
Demographics | |
Population | - uninhabited - (2010) |
Sarigan or Sariguan, the largest island in the Northern Marianas. The island has been sparsely populated, but in modern times has been uninhabited due to volcanic activity. It is a currently a nature preserve.
History
Sarigan was originally settled by the
Following the sale of the Northern Marianas by Spain to the German Empire in 1899, Agrigan was administered as part of German New Guinea. The island was used as a penal colony from 1900 to 1906. The prisoners, who lived some with their families on Sarigan were mainly employed by the coconut plantations.[6] In 1909, the island was leased by the Pagan Society, a German-Japanese partnership, which continued to export copra. The company also employed fowlers to hunt birds for feathers for export to Japan and Europe.[7] However, the Pagan Society fell into financial difficulties from 1912.
During World War I, Sarigan came under the control of the Empire of Japan and was subsequently administered as part of the South Seas Mandate. In the 1930s, between 10 and 20 families lived on the island.[8]
Following
Today, the island is a
On May 28, 2010, a submarine volcano 7 mi (11 km) to the south erupted a brief cloud of steam and ash that briefly rose to 49,000 ft (15,000 m) and left a trail of pumice debris on the surface of the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Sarigan was declared off-limits by the government of the Northern Mariana Islands after the eruption.[9]
Geography
Sarigan is roughly triangular in shape, with a length of 2.7 kilometers (1.7 mi) and a width of 2.5 km (1.6 mi) and an area of 4.5 km2 (1.7 sq mi).
Landing on Sarigan is difficult because perpendicular cliffs surround much of the island. It has many ravines and valleys with dense tropical vegetation, particularly on the northern side of the island. The stratovolcano is at the southern end of the island, and there is a plateau north of it with an elevation of 322 m (1,056 ft) and a width of .42 kilometers (0.26 mi). To the north of the plateau are steep, vegetation-covered slopes, which go down to the sea.[11]
The island's north-western coast is the most habitable, climbing from an elevation of 0 m (0 ft) to 61 m (200 ft) in 0.24 km (0.15 mi) and having a lot of vegetation.[11]
Approximately 12 km (6.5 nmi) south of Sarigan is the South Sarigan Seamount, a submarine volcano with several peaks, with a maximum height of 184 m below sea level. It briefly erupted in May 2010 producing a plume of water vapor about 12 km high.
Important Bird Area
The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of Micronesian megapodes, white-throated ground doves, Micronesian myzomelas and Micronesian starlings.[12]
References
Citations
- ^ "10 SARIGAN" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. p. 56. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ NOAA (2023).
- ^ Dirk HR Speenemann: Combining Curiosity with Political Skill: The Antiquarian Interests and Cultural Politics of Georg Fritz. In: Micronesian journal of the humanities and social sciences, 2006(5), S. 495–504, hier S. 498.
- ^ Brand, Donald D. The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations New York: The American Geographical Society (New York, 1967) p.123.
- .
- ISBN 3515057625, S. 23f, 32, 46.
- ^ Dirk HR Speenemann: Exploitation of bird plumages in the German Mariana Islands. In: Micronesica 1999(31) S. 309–318, hier S. 313.
- ^ Brainard, Coral reef ecosystem monitoring report, S. 2.
- ^ CNN News, 'Pacific submarine volcano issues 'big burp'", 31 May 2010 : accessed 31 May 2010
- ^ Brainard, Coral reef ecosystem monitoring report, S. 1
- ^ a b c "Google Earth – Google Earth". Google Earth. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
- ^ "Sarigan Island". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
Bibliography
References
- "Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands", Coral Reef Information System, Silver Spring: NOAA, 2023.
- Russell E. Brainard et al.: Coral reef ecosystem monitoring report of the Mariana Archipelago: 2003–2007. (=PIFSC Special Publication, SP-12-01) NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 2012 (Kapitel Alamagan (englisch, PDF, 12,2 MB)).
- Richard B. Moore, Frank A. Trusdell: Geologic map of Alamagan Volcano, northern Mariana Islands. United States Geological Survey 1993 (Download).