The Samoan Islands are an archipelago covering 3,030 km2 (1,170 sq mi) in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa and most of American Samoa. The land masses of the two Samoan jurisdictions are separated by 64 km (40 mi) of ocean at their closest points.
The National Park of American Samoa is a national park in the United States territory of American Samoa, distributed across four islands: Tutuila, Ofu, Olosega, and Ta‘ū. The park preserves and protects coral reefs, tropical rainforests, fruit bats, and the Samoan culture. Popular activities include hiking and snorkeling. Of the park's 8,257 acres (3,341 ha), 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) is coral reefs and ocean. The park is the only American National Park Service system unit south of the equator.
Taʻū is the largest inhabited island in the Manuʻa Islands and the easternmost volcanic island of the Samoan Islands. Taʻū is part of American Samoa. In the early 19th century, the island was sometimes called Opoun.
Ofu and Olosega are parts of a volcanic doublet in the Manuʻa Islands, which is a part of American Samoa in the Samoan Islands. These twin islands, formed from shield volcanoes, have a combined length of 6 km and a combined area of 12 square kilometers. Together, they have a population of about 500 people. Geographically, the islands are volcanic remnants separated by the narrow, 137-meter-wide (449-foot)) Āsaga Strait, composed of shallow-water coral reef. Before 1970, people crossed between the two islands by waiting until low tide and then wading across the shallow water of the strait. Since 1970, there has been a bridge over the strait, providing a single-lane road that connects the two islands.
The Manuʻa Islands, or the Manuʻa tele, in the Samoan Islands, consists of three main islands: Taʻū, Ofu and Olosega. The latter two are separated only by the shallow, 137-meter-wide Āsaga Strait, and are now connected by a bridge over the strait. The islands are located some 110 kilometers east of Tutuila and are a part of American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Their combined area is 56 square kilometers, and they have a total population of 1,400. Taʻu is the largest of these islands, with an area of 44 km2 (17 sq mi), and it has the highest point of the Manuʻa, at 931 meters. Politically, the islands form the Manuʻa District, one of the three administrative divisions of American Samoa.
Tui Manuʻa Elisara was the last Tui Manu'a titleholder in Manu'a, which is now part of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa. Elisala was the son of Tui Manuʻa Alalamua whose genealogy descended from the Sa Tagaloa.
The islands of Samoa were originally inhabited by humans as early as 850 BC. After being invaded by European explorers in the 18th century, by the 20th and 21st century, the islands were incorporated into Samoa and American Samoa.
Utulei or ʻUtulei is a village in Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fagatogo village, the legislative capital of American Samoa, and is located on the southwest edge of Pago Pago Harbor. Utulei is the site of many local landmarks: The A. P. Lutali Executive Office Building, which is next to the Feleti Barstow Library; paved roads that wind up to a former cablecar terminal on Solo Hill; the governor's mansion, which sits on Mauga o Alii, overlooking the entrance to Goat's Island, and the lieutenant governor's residence directly downhill from it; the Lee Auditorium, built in 1962; American Samoa's television studios, known as the Michael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center; and the Rainmaker Hotel. Utulei Terminal offers views of Rainmaker Mountain.
Lata Mountain is the summit of the island of Taʻū in the Manuʻa Islands. The summit of Lata Mountain the highest point in American Samoa.
Fitiuta, also known as Fiti'uta or Maia, is a village on the northeast coast of Taʻū island, one of the Manuʻa Islands in American Samoa. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 153. The village of Fitiuta is made up of two hamlets: Maia and Leusoali'i, the latter of which is the most eastern area on the island. Historically, they were classified as villages. The town has two shops, a hotel and a church, which was recently built. Fitiuta Airport is located in the town.
Fitiuta Airport is a public airport located in Fiti‘uta, a village on the island of Ta‘ū in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Fitiuta Airport replaced Tau Airport, which was officially deactivated after the construction and activation of Fitiuta Airport in 1990. The Fitiuta airport is owned by the Government of American Samoa.
Tau Airport was a privately owned, private-use airport located 1.6 kilometers (0.99 mi) southeast of the village of Ta‘ū on the island of Ta‘ū in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States. The airport was located in the northwest corner of Ta‘ū island. Tau Airport was deactivated in 1990, and was replaced by Fitiuta Airport, located on the northeast side of the island. Satellite imagery from 2015 does not appear to show any remnants of the airport.
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Centered on 14.3°S 170.7°W, it is east of the International Date Line and the Wallis and Futuna Islands, west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 500 kilometers (310 mi) south of Tokelau. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island.
The title Tui Manuʻa was the title of the ruler or paramount chief of the Manuʻa Islands in present-day American Samoa.
Tui Manu'a Matelita, born Margaret Young, and also known as Makelita, Matelika or Lika was the Tui Manu'a of Manu'a, a group of islands in the eastern part of the Samoan Islands, from 1891 to 1895. During her tenure, she served largely a ceremonial role at her residence on Ta'ū where she received British writer Robert Louis Stevenson. Matelita never married because she would not marry any of the eligible native chieftains and no other men were regarded as having the proper rank to marry her. She died of illness in 1895, although later reports claimed she died by a more violent means. She was buried in the Tui Manu'a Graves Monument.
The Faga Village Site is a major archaeological site in the United States territory of American Samoa. Located on the north shore of the island of Ta'u, it is, according to local oral history, one of the oldest settlements in all of the Samoan islands, and an important site in the formation of Samoan culture. The site includes a large number of house foundations, terraces, stone walls, and other stone-built features. Excavations at the site have yielded radiocarbon dates indicating the site was occupied as far back as 1000 CE. The site continues to be of cultural importance to the local Samoan population.
The Jean P. Haydon Museum is a museum in Pago Pago dedicated to the culture and history of the United States territory of American Samoa. It contains a collection of canoes, coconut-shell combs, pigs’ tusk armlets and native pharmacopoeia. It also houses exhibits on natural history, tapa making, traditional tattooing, as well as a collection of war clubs, kava bowls, and historic photographs. Constructed in 1913 as U.S. Naval Station Tutuila Commissary, the building was home to Tutuila Island's Post Office from 1950 to 1971. The museum has displays of various aspects of the Samoan Islands’ culture and history. It is the official repository for collections of artifacts for American Samoa. Funded by the American Samoa Council on Arts, Culture and the Humanities, it is the venue used for numerous of the cultural resource activities in American Samoa.
Taliutafa Christopher Leiesilika Young, also known as Christopher Taliutafa Young, Chris Young or Kilisi Young was the last claimant to the traditional title Tui Manu'a of Manu'a, a group of islands in the eastern part of the Samoan Islands. He was deposed from this title and exiled by American Governor Edward Stanley Kellogg because the idea of monarchy was incompatible with the Constitution of the United States.
Lumā is a village on the northwest coast of Taʻū Island in American Samoa, south of the village of Taʻū and north of Siʻufaga. The last Tui Manuʻa is buried in Lumā. It is also where anthropologist Margaret Mead researched and authored her classic Coming of Age in Samoa in 1925. Lumā and neighboring Siʻufaga are subvillages of the Village of Taʻū.
