Guam


Guam (/ˈɡwɑːm/ (listen); Chamorro: Guåhan [ˈɡʷɑhɑn]) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean.[4][5] It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic center of the U.S.); its capital Hagåtña (144°45'00"E) lies further west than Melbourne, Australia (144°57'47"E). In Oceania, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, and the most populous village is Dededo.

People born on Guam are American citizens but have no vote in the United States presidential elections while residing on Guam and Guam delegates to the United States House of Representatives have no vote on the floor. Indigenous Guamanians are the Chamoru, historically known as the Chamorro, who are related to the Austronesian peoples of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Micronesia, and Polynesia. As of 2022, Guam's population is 168,801. Chamoros are the largest ethnic group, but a minority on the multi-ethnic island. The territory spans 210 square miles (540 km2; 130,000 acres) and has a population density of 775 per square mile (299/km2). The Chamoro people settled the island approximately 3,500 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, while in the service of Spain, was the first European to visit the island on March 6, 1521. Guam was colonized by Spain in 1668. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons. During the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21, 1898. Under the Treaty of Paris, signed December 10, 1898, Spain ceded Guam to the U.S. effective April 11, 1899.

Before World War II, Guam was one of five American jurisdictions in the Pacific Ocean, along with Wake Island in Micronesia, American Samoa and Hawaii in Polynesia, and the Philippines. On December 8, 1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam was captured by the Japanese, who occupied the island for two and a half years. During the occupation, Guamanians were subjected to forced labor, incarceration, torture and execution.[6][7][8] American forces recaptured the island on July 21, 1944, which is commemorated as Liberation Day.[9] Since the 1960s, Guam's economy has been supported primarily by tourism and the U.S. military, for which Guam is a major strategic asset.[10]

An unofficial but frequently used territorial motto is "Where America's Day Begins", which refers to the island's proximity to the International Date Line.[11][12] Guam is among the 17 non-self-governing territories listed by the United Nations, and has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983.[13]

Guam, along with the Mariana Islands, were the first islands settled by humans in Remote Oceania. Incidentally it is also the first and the longest of the ocean-crossing voyages of the Austronesian peoples, and is separate from the later Polynesian settlement of the rest of Remote Oceania. They were first settled around 1500 to 1400 BC by migrants departing from the Philippines. This was followed by a second migration from the Caroline Islands by the first millennium AD, and a third migration from Island Southeast Asia (likely the Philippines or eastern Indonesia) by 900 AD.[14][15]


Map showing the Neolithic Austronesian migrations into the islands of the Indo-Pacific
Reception of the Manila Galleon by the Chamoru in the Ladrones Islands, ca. 1590 Boxer Codex
Main street of Hagåtña ca. 1899-1900
U.S. Marines walk through the ruins of Hagåtña, July 1944
Photograph of Guam from space captured by NASA's now decommissioned Earth observation satellite, Earth Observing-1 (EO-1), on December 30, 2011
Guam National Wildlife Refuge beach at Ritidian Point
Previously extensively dredged, Tumon Bay is now a marine preserve.
The introduction of the brown tree snake nearly eradicated the native bird population
The Guam Museum in Hagåtña opened in 2016
Youth performance of traditional dance at Micronesia Mall, 2012
Outrigger canoe team at Tumon
Beaches at the tourist center of Tumon
A proportional representation of Guam exports, 2019
Terminal at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport. The airport hosts a hub of United Airlines, Guam's largest private-sector employer.
Map of U.S. military lands on Guam, 2010
Incumbent governor Lou Leon Guerrero
James Moylan is the Delegate for Guam's at-large congressional district.
Hagåtña from the Spanish-built Fort Santa Agueda
Guam Highway 8 route marker
Construction at the Port of Guam, 2014
The Umatac Outdoor Library, built in 1933, was the first library in southern Guam.