Malesso' (formerly Merizo) is the southernmost village in the

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territory of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

Cocos Island Cocos Island () is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 15 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Puntarenas Province, Province of ...

(Chamorro: Islan Dåno) is a part of the municipality. The village's population has decreased since the island's 2010 census. Malesso' is the closest populated place in the United States to the

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. On August 18, 2021, the municipality place name was officially changed from Merizo to Malesso'.

History

During the first

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

missionary efforts on Guam, Malesso' was the site of resistance encouraged by Choco, a Chinese resident of the village. The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Malesso' was the second established by the Spanish on Guam. A large population of Chamorros from the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...

were relocated to the village during Spanish rule. The village covers an area of and is located on the shore below the volcanic hills of southern Guam. Places of interest for visitors include Merizo Bell Tower
Malesso' Kombento
and Merizo Pier where ferries can be taken to Cocos Island (Guam) Resort. Several popular dive sites are located off the Malesso' coast. In August 2021, Gov.

Lou Leon Guerrero Lourdes Aflague "Lou" Leon Guerrero (born November 8, 1950) is an American politician and former banking executive, lobbyist, and nurse who has served as the ninth governor of Guam since 2019.Haidee Eugenio Gilbert''Crowd: Governor's speech inspi ...

signed a bill officially changing the name of the village from Merizo to Malesso'.

Contamination of lagoon

Officials from the Guam Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Public Health and Social Services and the Coast Guard announced findings of major

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(PCB) contamination in the Cocos Lagoon on February 20, 2006 and warned people not to eat fish caught there. The contamination is believed to have come from a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

station which operated on Cocos Island from 1944-1963.

Climate

Demographics

The

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

has the Malesso'

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Guam Public School System The Guam Department of Education (GDOE), formerly the Guam Public School System, is a school district that serves the United States territory of Guam. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities a ...

serves the island. Merizo Martyrs Elementary School in Malesso' and Inarajan Middle School in Inarajan serve Malesso'. Southern High School in Santa Rita serves the village.Guam's Public High Schools
" ''Guam Public School System''. Accessed September 8, 2008. In regards to the

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...

(DoDEA), Malesso is in the school attendance zone for McCool Elementary and McCool Middle School, while Guam High School is the island's sole DoDEA high school. No DoDEA school buses go to Malesso.

Public libraries

Guam Public Library System Guam Public Library System (Chamorro language, Chamoru: Sisteman Laibirihan Pupbleko Guåhan) is the public library system of the United States territory of Guam. The main library is the Nieves M. Flores Memorial Library at 254 Martyr Street in t ...

operates the Malesso' Library at 376 Cruz Avenue.

Recreation

Water sport crafts can be rented near Merizo Pier. The pier is also a fishing spot.

List of mayors

References

* Rogers, Robert F (1995). Destiny's Landfall: A History of Guam: University of Hawai'i Press. * Carter, Lee D; Carter, Rosa Roberto; Wuerch, William L (1997). Guam History: Perspectives Volume One: MARC. * Sanchez, Pedro C. Guahan, Guam: The History of our Island: Sanchez Publishing House.

External links

Merizo Guam
at Guam Portal

{{Coord, 13, 15, 48, N, 144, 40, 11, E, type:city_region:US-GU, display=title Villages in Guam Census-designated places in Guam