Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United Nations.The island's capital is Hagåtña (formerly Agaña). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. The Chamorros, Guam's indigenous people, first populated the island approximately 4,000 years ago. The island has a long history of European colonialism. First discovered by Europeans by Ferdinand Magellan on March 6, 1521, the first colony was established in 1668 by Spain with the arrival of settlers including Padre San Vitores, a Catholic missionary. The island was controlled by Spain until 1898, when it was surrendered to the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris following the Spanish-American War. As the largest island in Micronesia and the only U.S.-held island in the region before World War II, Guam was captured by the Japanese on December 8, 1941, hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and was occupied for two and a half years.

GEOGRAPHY

       Guam lies between 13.2°N and 13.7°N and between 144.6°E and 145.0°E, and has an area of 212 square miles (549 km2), making it the 32nd largest island of the United States. It is the southernmost and largest island in the Mariana island chain and is also the largest island in Micronesia. This island chain was created by the colliding Pacific and Philippine Sea tectonic plates. Guam is the closest land mass to the Mariana Trench, a deep subduction zone, that lies beside the island chain to the east. Challenger Deep, the deepest surveyed point in the Oceans, is southwest of Guam at 35,797 feet (10,911m) deep. The highest point in Guam is Mount Lamlam, which is 1,332 feet (406 m). The island of Guam is 30 miles (48km) long and 4 miles (6km) to 12 miles (19km) wide. The island experiences occasional earthquakes due to its location on the western edge of the Pacific Plate and near the Philippine Sea Plate.

CLIMATE

       The climate is characterized as tropical marine. The weather is generally hot and very humid with little seasonal temperature variation. The mean high temperature is 86 °F (30°C) and mean low is 76 °F (24°C) with an average annual rainfall of 96inches (2,180mm). The dry season runs from December through June. The remaining months (July through November) constitute the rainy season. The months of January and February are considered the coolest months of the year with night time temperatures in the mid to low 70s and generally lower humidity levels. The highest risk of typhoons is during October and November. They can, however, occur year-round. Guam is located in what has been nicknamed "Typhoon Alley" and it is common for the island to be threatened by tropical storms and possible typhoons during the wet season.