Guam Long Distance Moving Companies

Guam

Territorial motto: Where America's Day Begins

Official languages English, Chamorro
Unofficial languages Japanese (used in business transactions), Tagalog (used in conversation), Chuukese, Korean (used in conversation), Hindi (used in conversation)
Capital Hagåtña
Chief of state George W. Bush
Governor Felix Perez Camacho
Area
- Total
- % water Ranked 202nd
549 km²
Negligible
Population
- Total (2003)
- Density Ranked N/A
163,941 (July 2003 est.)
299/km²
Independence none (territory of the USA)
Currency US dollar (USD)
Time zone UTC+10 (no DST)
Territorial anthem Fanoghe Chamorro
Internet TLD .gu
Calling Code 1-671

Apra Harbor from the air
Map of GuamThe Territory of Guam (Guåhån in Chamorro) is an island in the Western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States. Its indigenous people are the Chamorros, who first inhabited the island approximately 3,500 years ago. The capital is Hagåtña, formerly Agana (pronounced Agaña). Guam's economy is mainly supported by tourism (particularly from Japan) and its United States armed forces bases. The latter takes up one-third of the entire land mass of the island. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes Guam on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Contents [hide]
1 History of Guam
2 Politics of Guam
3 Transportation and Communications in Guam
4 Miscellaneous
5 See also
6 External links

Guam's history of colonialism is the longest among the Pacific islands, starting with Ferdinand Magellan's visit in 1521 during his around the world voyage. The island became an important resting stop on the Spanish trade route between the Philippines and Mexico. While Guam's Chamorro culture is unique (even when compared to neighboring Northern Mariana Islands), the cultures of both Guam and the Northern Marianas were heavily influenced by Spanish culture and traditions.

The United States took control of the island in 1898 after the Battle of Guam of 1898 in the Spanish-American War. Guam was the southernmost island in the Marianas Group and this poltical change started Guam and the Northern Marianas (including Saipan and Tinian) down separate paths. Guam came to serve as a way station for American ships traveling to and from the Philippines.

During World War II, Guam was attacked and invaded by the Japanese armed forces in 1941. The Northern Mariana islands had become a Japanese protectorate before the war. The Northern Mariana Chamorros, as a result, were allies of the Japanese. The Guam Chamorros were treated as an occupied enemy by the Japanese military. The United States returned and fought the Battle of Guam in 1944 to recapture the island from Japanese military occupation. While the Northern Marianas were also liberated from Japanese rule and came under the U.S. political rule and commonwealth status, some cultural rift between Guam and Northern Mariana Chamorros remains.

The Organic Act of 1950 granted U.S. citizenship to Guam's population, and gradually the island obtained semi-autonomous status as an Organized territory.

Guam saw catastrophic damage in 1997 after Super Typhoon Paka slammed into the island at nearly Category 5 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

The population of Guam is largely proud of its U.S. connection, and its economy is greatly dependent on the US military base. The U.S. connection also contributes to Guam's status as a Japanese tourist desitination. The Guamanian population is generally culturally sympathetic toward the U.S., based especially in common tribulations during WWII, and on good relations with the U.S. military since.

Maintenance of the status quo vis à vis the current political relationship between the territory and the U.S. is, however, not without controversy. There is a significant movement in favor of Guam becoming a commonwealth in political union with the U.S. (i.e., the political status of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands). Competing movements with less significant influence exist, one of which advocates political independence from the United States, while another movement advocates statehood.

In whatever form it takes, most people on Guam favor a modified version of the current territorial status, involving both greater autonomy from the federal government (similar to the autonomy of individual states), and also greater rights and freedoms as Americans. Perceived indifference by the U.S. Congress regarding a change-of-status petition submitted by Guam, has led many to feel that the territory is being unjustly deprived of the benefits of a richer and more equitable union with the U.S.

Conversely, members in the U.S. Congress have shown growing concern with the seemingly rampant political corruption within the local Government of Guam. Investigations into the expenditure of Federal grants have frequently revealed waste, fraud, and abuse throughout all levels of the Guam Government bureaucracy. There are also grievances against political and economic racism; particularly that of native Chamorro possessing more "rights" than other American citizens in a multitude of matters.

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Transportation and Communications in Guam
Main articles: Communications in Guam, Transportation in Guam
Guam is served by Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport.

As travel restrictions eased and the Japanese economy grew, Guam became a favorite destination for Japanese tourists. Guam is a relatively short flight from Japan compared to Hawaii, and a series of tourist hotels and golf courses were built to cater to the tourists. Today, about 90 percent of tourists to Guam are Japanese. The main tourist beach, Tumon Bay has beautiful white sand, and Tumon Bay is now a marine preserve, teeming with fish. Recently completed infrastucture projects have brought underground fiber-optics and new roads to the busy Tumon area.

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Miscellaneous

Brown Tree SnakeThe island is also known as a prominent example for the disastrous effects of bioinvasion: A stowaway on U.S. military transport at the end of World War II, the slightly venomous, but rather harmless, brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) came north to Guam and killed almost the entire native bird population on the previously snake-free island. This snake has no natural predators on the island; nowadays, Guam is one of the areas with the highest snake density in the world (an estimated 2,000 snakes/km²). Even so, residents rarely see these snakes. They curl up and hide during the day, and move about on trees and fences at night. As prodigious tree climbers, the snakes allegedly caused frequent blackouts in neigborhoods across the Island. Now all power poles have a slick metal sheath that prevent the snakes from climbing up. The power outages are more likely a result of the lack of maintenance done on the old and failing equipment used to supply power. Theft of parts and equipment by GPA employees has also been a problem resulting in frequent power loss.

Guam lies along the Marianas Trench, a deep subduction zone at the edge of the Pacific plate. The Challenger Deep, the deepest point on earth, is just southwest of Guam at 35,838 ft (10,923 meters) deep.

Dive Sites of Guam
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See also
Villages of Guam
>From the CIA World Factbook 2000:

Demographics of Guam
Economy of Guam
Geography of Guam
List of radio stations in Guam
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External links
Guampedia
Map of Micronesia
Maps - Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
myMicronesia/Guam section
Official Guam Webpage
Pacific Daily News, Guam's Primary Newspaper
The Brown Tree Snake on Guam How the arrival of one invasive species damaged the ecology, commerce, electrical systems, and human health on Guam: A comprehensive information source.
U.S. Library of Congress - Portals to the World