American
(Amerika) Samoa is a group of seven Polynesian islands in the South Pacific
and the United States' southern-most territory. It is 3,700 km south-west
of Hawaii and based in the heart of Polynesia.
American
Samoa acquired international fame when English dramatist, Somerset Maugham
wrote 'Rain' in the 1940s, one of his best known short stories. He used
American Samoa's tropical location as the setting for the story and
later the movie starring Joan Crawford. Also during the 1960s and 1970s,
many of the US Apollo missions to the moon splashed down near islands.
Astronauts from these missions travelled through the islands on their
way home.
American
Samoa was first sighted in 1722 by Dutchman Roggeveen. It is part of
the Samoa archipelago, separated politically from the western Samoan
islands in 1899 when they became the centre of a dispute between England,
Germany and the United States. In 1899, German and the US partitioned
the islands between themselves, hence the Americanisation of the eastern
Samoan islands.
Tutuila
is the largest island and a high volcanic island. Evidence of this volcanic
make up can be seen in the capital Pago Pago where the harbour is based
in the crater of an extinct volcano. Because of its sheltered position
by peripheral mountains, it is also a
natural hurricane
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Letele, Roshni, Sham, Teleiai Su’a
Edwin, Ruta & Olo Elise on arrival at Faleolo Airport. |
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