Guam. About 8 miles wide and 30 miles long, is the largest, most southern island of the Mariana archipelago. It is Americas westernmost possession. The island became part of America 1898. It is located about 6,000 miles west of San Francisco; 3,700 miles west-southwest of Honolulu; 1,500 miles southeast of Tokyo; 2,100 miles southeast of Hong Kong; 1,500 miles east of Manila; and 3,100 miles northwest of Sydney Australia. The Marianas Trench off Guam is the deepest known ocean depth , 39,198 feet.

Political status: Unincorporated territory of the United States.
Location: In the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines.
Geographic coordinates: 13 28 N, 144 47 E
Country code: 1
Area Code: 671
Territorial Bird: Koko, or the Guam rail
Territorial Tree: Ifit, a dense, reddish hardwood
Territorial Flower: Puti Tai Nobiu (Bougainvillea)
Capital: Hagåtña
Area: 541.3 sq km, about three times the size of Washington, D.C.
Climate: Tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation.
Terrain: Volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in center, mountains in south.
Time: GMT plus 10 hours. Guam lies west of International Dateline and is consequently one day ahead of Hawaii and the Continental U.S.
Indigenous population: Chamorro
Population: 154,805 (U.S.Census 2000)
Median age: 27.4
Median household income (1999): $39,317
Religion: Roman Catholic 85 percent, other 15 percent (1999)
Official languages: English and Chamorro. Youll also hear people speaking Tagalog (and any number of Philippine dialects), Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Palauan, etc.
Economic overview: The economy depends mainly on U.S. military spending and on tourist revenue. During the past 20 years, the tourism industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry began suffering a setback in 1997 for various reasons, primarily the continuing Japanese recession; the Japanese normally make up almost 90 percent of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported.
Currency: U.S. dollar

Its People

Its people descended from the Chamorros, the Islands oldest known inhabitants of the Marianas. They were of Mayo-Polynesian descent, originating in southeast Asia around 2,000 BC Cultural similarities of the ancient and present day Chamorros resemble the languages and cultures of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Phillippines. The first historical documents written by Pifigetta in 1521, described them as "being tall, big-boned, robust with tawny brown skin and long black hair."

Present day Chamorros are a mixture of various ethnic compositions consisting of many cultural groups originating from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. In 1962, President Kennedy lifted the Naval Clearing Act which allowed other ethnic groups to make Guam their home. Since that time, many Filipinos, Caucasians, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indians, and Pacific Islanders have moved to Guam. The present population is a rich blend of many races which makes the island a cosmopolitan community of various customs and traditions.

Historical synopsis
Guam was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the United States three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important U.S. bases in the Pacific.