The Samoan Islands ( sm, Motu o Sāmoa) are an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

and of the wider region of

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa and most of

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

(apart from Swains Island, which is geographically part of the Tokelau Islands). The land masses of the two Samoan jurisdictions are separated by of ocean at their closest points. The population of the Samoan Islands is approximately 250,000. The inhabitants have in common the Samoan language, a culture known as '' fa'a Samoa,'' and an indigenous form of governance called '' fa'amatai''.

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people ( sm, tagata Sāmoa) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between t ...

are one of the largest Polynesian populations in the world, and most are of exclusively Samoan ancestry. The oldest known evidence of human activity in the Samoan Islands dates to around 1050 BCE. It comes from a Lapita site at

Mulifanua Mulifanua is a village on the north-western tip of the island of Upolu, in Samoa. In the modern era, it is the capital of Aiga-i-le-Tai district. Mulifanua wharf is the main ferry terminal for inter-island vehicle and passenger travel across t ...

wharf on

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximate ...

island. In 1768, the eastern islands were visited by the French explorer Bougainville, who named them the ''Navigator Islands''. That name was used by missionaries until about 1845, and in official European dispatches until about 1870.

Samoa and American Samoa

Politically Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, the Samoan Islands are divided into two jurisdictions: * , an independent nation that gained political independence from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1962. It comprises the western half of the Samoa islands, ( and 196,000 inhabitants (2016)). It was known as

German Samoa German Samoa (german: Deutsch-Samoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1920, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state of Samoa, formerly ''Western Samoa''. Samoa was the las ...

from 1900 to 1914, and as

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

until 1997. **Capital:

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...

; currency:

Samoan tala Samoan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean ** Something of, from, or related to Samoa, a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands ** Something of, from, ...

. *, an

unincorporated territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sove ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

comprising the eastern half of the Samoa Islands. ( and 49,710 inhabitants (2020)). **Capital:

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

; currency:

US dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

Political partition

In the late 19th century, competition for political control of the islands between the

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

resulted in the December 1899

Tripartite Convention The Tripartite Convention of 1899 concluded the Second Samoan Civil War, resulting in the formal partition of the Samoan archipelago into a German colony and a United States territory. Forerunners to the Tripartite Convention of 1899 were the ...

, which formally partitioned the Samoan archipelago into a German colony (

) in the western half and a United States territory (American Samoa) in the eastern half.

began occupying the western islands in World War I, while they were still a German colony and continued as an occupying force until 1920. Then, from 1920 until Samoa's independence in 1962, New Zealand governed the islands in that group under a

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

Class C Mandate from 1920 to 1946, and as a

United Nations Trust Territory United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Nati ...

from 1946 to 1962. The force that eventually led to the political independence of the western islands in 1962 was the pro-independence

Mau movement The Mau was a non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century. ''Mau'' means ‘resolute’ or ‘resolved’ in the sense of ‘opinion’, ‘unwavering’, ‘to be decided’, or ...

, which gained popularity across the area. The eastern islands remain a political territory of the United States.

Islands

The Samoan Islands has total of 18 islands spread in a west to east direction.

Samoa

* Savaii: population 43,819 (2016); largest landmass; westernmost in the group; most recent volcanic eruptions. Eruptions: Mt Matavanu (1905–1911);

Mata o le Afi Mata o le Afi ("Eye of the Fire" or "Source of the Fire") is an active volcano on the island of Savai'i in Samoa. It last erupted in 1902. 1902 eruption An eruption began on 30 October 1902. It was preceded by a series of thirteen earthquakes, wh ...

(1902); Mauga Afi (approximately 1725). * Manono: population 889 (2006). * Nuulopa: uninhabited; lies in the

Apolima Strait The Apolima Strait is about 13 km wide and separates the two largest islands of Samoa: Savai'i to the northwest, and Upolu to the southeast. Three small islands lie in the strait. Two of them, Manono and Apolima, have small village settl ...

between Upolu and Savaii. *

Apolima Apolima is the smallest of the four inhabited islands of Samoa. It lies in the Apolima Strait, between the country's two largest islands: Upolu to the east, and Savai'i to the west. The island has one village settlement, Apolima Tai, with a ...

: population 75 (2006). *

: population 143,418 (2011); the most populous island in the group. * Nuusafee: uninhabited; tiny rocky islet off the south coast of Upolu, near the village of Poutasi. * Nuutele: uninhabited; volcanic tuff ring; conservation for native birds; can also be seen from the popular Lalomanu Beach. * Nuulua: uninhabited; volcanic tuff ring; land area ; conservation habitat for

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

native birds. * Namua: uninhabited *

Fanuatapu Fanuatapu, an uninhabited island, is a volcanic tuff ring off the eastern tip of Upolu Island, Samoa. It is the smallest and easternmost of the four Aleipata Islands, with an area of 15 hectares. It has an automated lighthouse. See also * Sam ...

: uninhabited; volcanic

tuff ring Phreatomagmatic eruptions are volcanic eruptions resulting from interaction between magma and water. They differ from exclusively magmatic eruptions and phreatic eruptions. Unlike phreatic eruptions, the products of phreatomagmatic eruptions cont ...

. The islands of Manono, Apolima and Nuulopa lie in the

between Upolu and Savaii. The four small, uninhabited islands - Nuutele, Nuulua, Namua and Fanuatapu - are situated off the east coast of Upolu and comprise the

Aleipata Islands The Aleipata Islands are a group of four uninhabited islands off the eastern end of Upolu Island, Samoa. The islands are eroded volcanic tuff rings, and consist of a small northern pair on Upolu's barrier reef, and a larger southern pair outside ...

American Samoa

Tutuila Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa (and its largest), and is part of the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisbane, A ...

: population 48,405 (per 2020 census); main island in the territory. * Pola Island: unpopulated; part of the

National Park of American Samoa The National Park of American Samoa is a national park in the United States territory of American Samoa, distributed across three islands: Tutuila, Ofu, and Ta‘ū. The park preserves and protects coral reefs, tropical rainforests, fruit bats ...

. * Aunu'u: population 473 (per 2020 census); located southeast of Tutuila. * Swains Island: unpopulated (per 2020 census); politically administered by American Samoa, but culturally part of

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

;

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...

plantation. * Ofu‑Olosega: volcanic doublet encompassing Ofu (population 132, per 2020 census) and Olosega (population 147, per 2020 census); in the Manu'a Group of islands. * Ta'ū: population 236 (per 2020 census); largest island in the Manu'a Group *

Manu Manu may refer to: Geography * Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region **Manú National Park, Peru ** Manú River, in southeastern Peru * Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh *Manu Tem ...

(Rose Atoll): unpopulated (per 2020 census); conservation habitat for native birdlife, marine life,

green turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

and endangered

hawksbill turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is lar ...

Location

A Manaia, son of a Samoan matai photo Andrew

The islands are approximately from Fiji, from

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, from

, and from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, U.S.A. The islands lie between 13° and 14° south latitude and 169° and 173° west longitude, and span an area of about from west to east. The larger islands are

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

in origin, mountainous, and covered in tropical moist forest. Some of the smaller islands are coral atolls with black sand beaches.

Highest points

The highest point in Samoa is Mt. Silisili, on the island of Savai'i. At , it is also one of the highest peaks in Polynesia. The highest peak in American Samoa is on Ta’u, Lata Mountain, at .Sunia, Fofo I.F. (2009). ''A History of American Samoa''. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. .

Landmass

and Savai'i in Samoa are among the largest of the Polynesian islands, at and , respectively, Their size is exceeded only by the two main islands of Fiji and the Hawaiian islands of

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and Maui. The island of Upolu has more inhabitants than the island of Savai'i does. The next largest island is

, where the city and harbor of

(with a population of 3,519 in 1990) is located. Tutuila is much smaller than Upolu and Savai‘i, at in area, but it is the largest island in American Samoa. The highest point on Tutuila is Matafao Peak. Smaller islands in the archipelago include the three islets ( Manono Island,

and Nu'ulopa) located in the

between Savai'i and Upolu; the four

off the eastern end of

( Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua, and

); and Nu‘usafe‘e. Aunu'u is a small island off the eastern end of Tutuila. To the east of Tutuila, the Manu'a group comprises Ofu, Olosega, and Ta’u. An uninhabited coral atoll, Rose Atoll, is the southernmost point in the territory of the United States. Another coral atoll, Swains Island, is within the territory of American Samoa but is geographically distant from the Samoan archipelago.

Time zone

In 1892, the Samoan islands shifted to the eastern side of the International Date Line. The ruler Malietoa Laupepa issued a proclamation that Monday, July 4 would occur twice, giving an extra day in July 1892. This change, which occurred on the

American Independence Day Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

, was likely due to increasing trade with Americans. The islands would be on the same day as the United States. By 2011, the government of independent Samoa decided to shift back to the western side in order to have the same day as Australia and New Zealand. Being one day behind these countries, Samoa's primary trading partners, left only four business days in a week. The shift was implemented by skipping Friday, December 30; workers were paid for this "missed" day. Neighboring

shifted as well on this day.

Geology

The

Samoa island chain may have been formed by the activity of the Samoa hotspot at the eastern end of the Samoa Islands. In theory, that hotspot was created by the movement of the Pacific tectonic plate over a 'fixed' deep and narrow

mantle plume A mantle plume is a proposed mechanism of convection within the Earth's mantle, hypothesized to explain anomalous volcanism. Because the plume head partially melts on reaching shallow depths, a plume is often invoked as the cause of volcanic hot ...

spewing up through the Earth's crust. One piece of evidence that this activity may have created the islands is that they generally lie in a straight east-to-west line, and the plate is moving from east to west. However, some characteristics of the Samoa islands are inconsistent with this theory. The classic hotspot model (based mostly on studies of the

Hawaii hotspot The Hawaii hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands, in the northern Pacific Ocean. One of the best known and intensively studied hotspots in the world, the Hawaii plume is responsible for the creation of the H ...

) predicts that, if plate movement over a hotspot is what created a volcanic island chain, then the farther away from the hotspot the islands and seamounts in the chain are, the older they will prove to be. Some of the evidence is inconsistent with this explanation for the creation of the Samoa island chain, creating an enigma for scientists. For one thing, Savai'i, the most western of the Samoa island chain, and Ta'u Island, the most eastern, both erupted in the last century. For another thing, the subaerial rock samples initially collected from Savai'i, the westernmost of the islands, are too young by several million years to fit the classic hotspot model of age progression in an island chain. These facts led some scientists to suggest that the Samoa islands were not formed by the hotspot plume. One possible explanation for the inconsistency of the data with the hotspot formation theory is the fact that the island chain lies just north of the Tonga Trench. An alternative theory is that the islands were formed by

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

seeping through cracks in stressed fracture zones. However, in 2005, an international team found new evidence that supports the hotspot model. They gathered additional samples from Savai'i — submarine samples from the deep flanks and

rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-grabe ...

s of the island. Tests found that these samples are much older than the previously collected samples: They are about five million years old, an age that fits the hotspot model.

2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami

The

2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami The 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami took place on 29 September 2009 in the southern Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone. The submarine earthquake occurred in an extensional environment and had a moment magnitude of ...

killed more than 170 people in the Samoa Islands and

. The M8.1

submarine earthquake A submarine, undersea, or underwater earthquake is an earthquake that occurs underwater at the bottom of a body of water, especially an ocean. They are the leading cause of tsunamis. The magnitude can be measured scientifically by the use of the ...

took place in the region at 06:48:11 local time on September 29, 2009 (17:48:11 UTC, September 29), followed by smaller aftershocks. It was the

largest Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (o ...

earthquake of 2009.

Vailulu'u Seamount

The Vailulu'u Seamount, an active submerged volcano, lies east of Ta'u in

. It was discovered in 1975 and has since been studied by an international team of scientists, contributing towards understanding of the Earth's fundamental processes. Growing inside the summit crater of Va'ilulu'u is an active underwater

volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and ...

, named after Samoa's goddess of war,

Nafanua Nafanua was a historical ''ali'i'' (chief/queen) and ''toa'' (warrior) of Samoa from the Sā Tonumaipe'ā clan, who took four ''pāpā'' (district) titles, the leading ali'i titles of Samoa. After her death she became a goddess in Polynesian reli ...

Climate

The Samoan climate is tropical, with a rainy season from November to April. The island group is frequently hit by

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depen ...

s between December and March, due to its position in the South Pacific Ocean.

Gallery

File:Volcano eruption Mt Matavanu - Savai'i - 1905 - photo by Thomas Andrew.jpg, Mt Matavanu volcanic eruption on Savai'i island, 1905 File:Afono Village NPS.jpg, Afono village,

island, American Samoa. File:Aunu'u Island National National Landmark.jpg, Aunu'u island, offshore of the island of Tutuila, American Samoa File:1farleftpalms.jpg, A beach on

Ofu-Olosega 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 . Together ...

, a volcanic doublet in the Manu'a Group of islands. File:Fuipisia waterfall - Samoa.jpg, Fuipisia waterfall in Lotofaga, Upolu island.

References

External links

Samoa.travel: Samoa Tourism Authority website
* * {{Coord, 14, 16, S, 171, 12, W, type:country_source:dewiki, display=title Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Archipelagoes of Oceania Divided regions Geography of Polynesia Eastern Indo-Pacific Marine ecoregions