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The United States of America is comprised of more than just her fifty states. The US also owns territories in trust, most of which are islands scattered about the Pacific Ocean. Although nearly all of the US owned islands have the white sandy beaches and turquoise waters of the more popular US territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, not all are truly tourist destinations.
Some 2300 miles off the coast of Hawaii, deep within the Pacific Ocean, lies the American Samoa Islands. The territory consists of seven islands with a total population of approximately 56,000 people. The Islands are currently under the administration of the US Department of the Interior. They are considered unincorporated islands which means that most, but not all, of the US Constitution applies to the Samoans and their land. The natives of these islands are considered to be the last remaining true Polynesians. The National Park of American Samoa protects 8,000 acres of paleotropical rainforest and coral reef. It is also a refuge for the Flying Fruit bat. Despite the park, tourism to the Samoa Islands is low. According to the US Department of the Interior, the Islands have no international airline service, only one major hotel, and they are frequently battered by damaging typhoons. The islands remain, however, important in the tuna canning industry.
Northwest of the Samoa Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands lie on the edge of the Philippine Sea. Totaling fourteen islands, the Northern Marianas cover 183 square miles and are home to 50,000 people. Unlike the Samoa Islands, the Northern Marianas have a burgeoning tourist industry. Their most frequent tourists are not Americans, however, but the islands' closer neighbors - the Japanese. The Japanese are also responsible for much of the island's growth in tourist accommodations. Rota Island has a new golf course, and Tinian Island has a number of casinos. The garment industry has also relocated many factories to the islands given the absence of custom duties when exporting from the Marianas to the US.
Just south of the Mariana Islands is Guam. This one island is 212 square miles and is home to about 150,000 people, many of which are US Navy personnel working on the island's naval base. Despite its reputation as nothing more than a US Navy base, Guam does have some small tourist attractions. The Guam National Wildlife Refuge preserves 22, 873 acres of the island, however 22,000 is said to be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. The tourists that do arrive tend to be Japanese, Taiwanese and South Korean. The US Department of the Interior administers Guam.
To the east of Guam are the Marshall Islands and to Guam's west is Palau Island. Both these islands were originally under US control but have recently been granted independent status. Both are now considered republics and control their own foreign policy. They do maintain a special working relationship with the United States. The Marshall Islands are perhaps best known for Bikini Island -- the famous atoll used to test the atomic bomb. Neither Palau nor the Marshall Islands have much in the way of tourist facilities. Both still have a strong US Naval presence. Wake Island, situated directly north of the Marshall Islands, is also a US military stronghold. The tiny island is currently under the full control of the US Army and boasts no real tourism.
Closer to the coast of Hawaii lies Midway Island, Johnston Island and the Line Islands. Midway Island is famous for the Battle of Midway during World War II. After attacking Pearl Harbor, the Japanese tried to capture Midway Island. Against all odds, the US military stationed at Midway held off the Japanese, keeping the island in American control. Today the US Navy calls Midway "The Navy's Most Beautiful Isle". Under Navy control since 1908, Midway is currently under the purview of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The Navy has plans to evacuate its large military base, which for nearly a century had been the sole activity on the island. There are reports that some limited tourists facilities exist on Midway Island. Fishing and working expeditions led by the Oceanic Society Expeditions permits the study of birds, monk seals, and dolphins on the island. Johnston Island, lying southwest of Midway Island, and the Line Islands even further south on the equator are mostly US Naval posts. The Line Islands total 260 square miles. Some of the Line Islands belong to the nation of Kiribati. Those belonging to the US are Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll and Jarvis Island.
A good number of the United States' island territories serve the purposes of the US Navy. Some serve as fuel stops for Navy ships on long voyages. Others serve a strategic purpose and proved useful after World War II when Japanese motives were suspect. Still others like Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have evolved into sunny vacation destination for Americans, and even the Japanese.
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