Guam - Definition and Overview

The Territory of Guam
Guahan
グアム準州

(In Detail) (In Detail)
Territorial motto: Where America's Day Begins
Official languages	English, Chamorro
Unofficial languages	Japanese (used in business transactions), Tagalog (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)
National anthem	Fanoghe Chamorro
Internet TLD	.gu
Calling Code	1-671

The Territory of Guam (Guahan in Chamorro) is an island in the Western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States. The capital is Hagåtña, formerly Agana (pronounced Agaña). Guam's economy is mainly supported by tourism (90% of all visitors come from Japan) and United States armed forces bases. One of the closest American territories to the International Date Line, Guam is referred to by many as "where America's day begins", and as such, the phrase has become the territorial motto for the island.

The island is also known as a prominent example for the disastrous effects of bioinvasion: A stowaway on US troop transport ships at the end of World War II, the slightly venomous, but rather harmless, brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) came from the Philippines 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).

Apra Harbor from the air

Guam is served by Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport.

See: List of Guam Governors

From the CIA World Factbook 2000:

• History of Guam
• Geography of Guam
• Demographics of Guam

• Politics of Guam
• Economy of Guam
• Communications in Guam
• Transportation in Guam
• List of radio stations in Guam

External links

• Official Guam Webpage (http://ns.gov.gu/)
• Guampedia (http://www.guampedia.com/)
• US Library of Congress - Portals to the World (http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/hispanic/guam/guam.html)
• Maps - Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/guam.html)
• Map of Micronesia (http://www.mapsouthpacific.com/micronesia/index.html)
• myMicroneia/Guam section (http://www.mymicronesia.com/guam/)
• Jane's Guam Home Page (http://www.janeresture.com/guam/guam.htm)

Map of Guam

Political divisions of the United States

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