Asan River

Last updated
Asan River
Asan, Guam on June 16, 1944.jpg
The mouth of the Asan River in June 1944
Location
Country Guam
Physical characteristics
Mouth  
  coordinates
13°28′25.6″N144°42′47.6″E / 13.473778°N 144.713222°E / 13.473778; 144.713222 Coordinates: 13°28′25.6″N144°42′47.6″E / 13.473778°N 144.713222°E / 13.473778; 144.713222

The Asan River is a river in the United States territory of Guam that lies entirely within the village of Asan-Maina. [1] It originates in the highlands of Nimitz Hill Annex and flows through the Asan Inland Unit of War in the Pacific National Historical Park (WAPA) and enters the community of Asan. It then briefly re-enters WAPA at its Asan Inland Unit, with the mouth at the eastern end of Asan Memorial Park into Asan Bay. The river was thus a significant geographical feature of the Asan Invasion Beach for U.S. forces during the initial landings on Guam in July 1944.

See also

Related Research Articles

Flag of Guam Official flag of the U.S. territory of Guam

The flag of the United States territory of Guam was adopted on February 9, 1948. The territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all sides. The red border represents the blood spilled in World War II and Spanish sovereignty. In the center of the flag is the coat of arms; an almond-shaped emblem, which depicts a proa sailing in Hagåtña Bay near Hagåtña, and GUAM colored in red letters. The shape of the emblem recalls the slingshot stones used by ancient CHamoru people. The landform in the background depicts the Two Lovers Point cliff on Guam. Charles Alan Pownall, the military Governor of Guam, approved the flag's shape in 1948.

Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwater to the north and the Orote Peninsula in the south. Naval Base Guam and the Port of Guam are the two major users of the harbor. It is also a popular recreation area for boaters, surfers, scuba divers, and other recreationalists.

Asan-Maina, Guam Village in Guam, United States

Asan-Maina is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The municipality combines the names of Asan with Maina, a community in the hills to the east. It was a primary landing site for United States Marines during Guam's liberation from the Japanese during World War II. Asan Beach Park is part of the War in the Pacific National Historic Park. Asan and Maina are located in the Luchan (Western) District.

Piti, Guam Village in Guam, United States

Piti is a village located on the central west coast of the United States territory of Guam. It contains northern and eastern coastlines of Apra Harbor, including Cabras Island, which has the commercial Port of Guam and the island's largest power plants. Piti was a pre-Spanish CHamoru village and, after Spanish colonization, became the primary port town on Guam. The town was largely destroyed during the 1944 liberation of Guam and the population relocated during the wartime construction of Apra Harbor.

War in the Pacific National Historical Park

The War in the Pacific National Historical Park is a multi-unit protected area in the United States territory of Guam, which was established in 1978 in honor of those who participated in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Uniquely among the National Park System, it honors the bravery and sacrifices of all those who participated in the Pacific Theater.

Guam Highway 1 Highway in Guam

Guam Highway 1 (GH-1), also known as Marine Corps Drive, is one of the primary automobile routes in the United States territory of Guam. It runs in a southwest-to-northeast direction, from the main gate of Naval Base Guam in the southwestern village of Santa Rita in a northeasterly direction to the main gate of Andersen Air Force Base in the village of Yigo. It passes through Guam's capital, Hagåtña, as well as intersecting other territorial highways. The highway runs through tropical forest, urbanized commercial areas, and residential neighborhoods. The US military upgraded and extended the road starting in 1941. Construction ceased with the Japanese invasion in December 1941 and resumed after the Second Battle of Guam in 1944. The highway was formally dedicated to the U.S. Marine Corps by the governor in 2004.

Nimitz Hill Annex census-designated place in Guam, United States

Nimitz Hill Annex is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in Asan-Maina, Guam. It contains the geographic feature of Nimitz Hill, and is located immediately northeast of the Nimitz Hill CDP in Piti. In normal conversation, the Nimitz Hill CDP and Nimitz Hill Annex CDP are often collectively referred to as "Nimitz Hill."

Japanese occupation of Guam

The Japanese occupation of Guam was the period in the history of Guam between 1941 and 1944 when Imperial Japanese forces occupied Guam during World War II. The island was renamed Ōmiya-Jima.

Agat Bay

Agat Bay is a bay on the west coast of Guam. Its northern boundary is the Orote Peninsula, occupied entirely by Naval Base Guam, which itself lies within the village of Santa Rita. The bay stretches south along the coast of the village of Agat to Facpi Point. With a length of some seven kilometers, the bay stretches for nearly one fifth of the west coast of Guam. The Asan Invasion Beach of the 1944 Battle of Guam is commemorated by the Agat Unit of War in the Pacific National Historical Park, which spans surce and subsurface areas from Apaca Point to Bangi Point. The NRHP-listed Agat World War II Amtrac is submerged off Agat Cemetery.

Joint Region Marianas

Joint Region Marianas (JRM) is a U.S. Navy-commanded joint military command. JRM is the installation management authority for all United States Department of Defense installations on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. This includes Andersen Air Force Base (AFB), Naval Base (NB) Guam, and Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Blaz. Its headquarters is located in Nimitz Hill Annex, Asan, Guam. The command is an amalgamation of the United States Navy's NB Guam and United States Air Force's Andersen AFB, which were merged on October 1, 2009.

Asan Invasion Beach United States historic place

The Asan Invasion Beach is a historic site in the village of Asan, Guam. The beaches of Asan were one of the landing sites of American forces in the 1944 Battle of Guam, in which the island was retaken from occupying Japanese forces. The designated historic site includes the beaches extending between Asan Point and Adelup Point, and extends inland roughly to Guam Highway 1. It also includes the water area extending from the beach to the reef, about 100 metres (330 ft) out, an area that includes at least one abandoned Allied landing vehicle.

Asan Ridge Battle Area United States historic place

The Asan Ridge Battle Area was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the 1944 Battle of Guam, the World War II battle in which Allied forces recaptured Guam from occupying Japanese forces. The area is now part of the Asan Inland Unit of the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The area is just inland of the Asan Invasion Beach, one of the two major beachheads established by the Allies, and has a commanding view over that area. The landforms included in this area are Chorrito Cliff, Bundschuh Ridge, and Nimitz Hill, and they were heavily fortified by the Japanese prior to the battle. Surviving elements of these fortifications include two concrete pillboxes, and an unfinished battery of 4-inch guns.

Nimitz Hill may refer to:

Nimitz Hill (CDP) census-designated place in Guam, United States

Nimitz Hill is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in Piti, Guam. is located immediately west of the Nimitz Hill Annex CDP in Asan-Maina, which contains the geographic feature of Nimitz Hill. In normal conversation, the Nimitz Hill CDP and Nimitz Hill Annex CDP are often collectively referred to as "Nimitz Hill."

Adelup Point

Adelup Point is limestone promontory in Hagåtña, Guam that extends into the Philippine Sea and separates Asan Bay from Hagåtña Bay. It has been the site of the Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor's Complex since 1990. Adelup is therefore as a metonym for the Office of the Governor of Guam.

Liberation Day (Guam)

Liberation Day on the U.S. territory of Guam is an annual commemoration of the invasion by U.S. military forces on July 21, 1944, which ended the Japanese occupation that had begun in 1941. Begun in 1945, it is Guam's largest celebration. Festivities include a queen contest, summer carnival, fireworks display, and mile-long parade on Marine Corps Drive in Hagåtña from Adelup to Paseo de Susana, as well as solemn memorials and visits to massacre sites. It is organized by the Guam Island Fair Committee.

Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve

Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve is a marine protected area comprising all of Piti Bay on the western coast of Guam, located off of the village of Piti in the Philippine Sea. The defining "bomb hole" features, named because they look like bomb craters in the reef flat, are actually natural percolation pits where fresh water filters into the shallow lagoon at a depth of 25 to 30 feet. The largest pit houses the commercial Fish Eye Marine Park tourist attraction, which includes a wooden pier to a underwater observatory and a Seawalker tour of the lagoon bottom. It is visited by more than 200,000 people annually. The Piti preserve is the most ecologically diverse of Guam's five marine preserves. The pit around Fish Eye is a popular snorkeling and recreational diving site.

Asan, Guam census-designated place in Guam, United States

Asan is a community and and census-designated place (CDP) along the western coast of the U.S. territory of Guam. Asan, along with Maina and Nimitz Hill Annex, are the three communities in the village of Asan-Maina. It is known for being the location of northern invasion beach used by the United States during the retaking of Guam in 1944.

References