The Samoan Islands () are an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

and of the wider region of

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

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

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

(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 Samoan ( or , ) is a Polynesian languages, Polynesian language spoken by Samoans of the Samoan Islands. Administratively, the islands are split between the sovereign country of Samoa and the Unincorporated territories of the United States, Unit ...

, a culture known as '' fa'a Samoa,'' and an indigenous form of governance called '' fa'amatai''.

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people () 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 the Independent S ...

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 The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed to have originated fro ...

site at Mulifanua wharf on Upolu 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, the Samoan Islands are divided into two jurisdictions: *

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, an independent nation that gained political independence from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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

German Samoa German Samoa officially Malo Kaisalika / Kingdom of Samoa (; Samoan: ''Malo Kaisalika'') 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 ...

from 1900 to 1914, and as

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabit ...

until 1997. **Capital:

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

; currency: Samoan tala. *

, an

unincorporated territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions and dependent territory, dependent territories overseen by the federal government of the United States. The American territories differ from the U.S. states and Indi ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

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

; currency:

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the 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 (LN or LoN; , SdN) 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 (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Class C Mandate from 1920 to 1946, and as a United Nations Trust Territory 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 nonviolence, non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colony, colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century. ''Mau'' means 'resolute' or 'resolved' in the sense of 'opinion', 'unwavering', 'to be decided', o ...

, 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 Mount Matavanu is an active volcano on the island of Savaiʻi in Samoa. The volcano was formed during an eruption in 1905. Lava flows from the eruption covered a large area of land in the Gagaʻemauga district, leading to the relocation of severa ...

(1905–1911); Mata o le Afi (1902);

Mauga Afi Mauga Afi ("Burning Mountain" or "Mountain of Fire") is a volcanic mountain in the Gagaʻifomauga district on the island of Savai'i in Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an isla ...

(approximately 1725). * Manono: population 889 (2006). * Nuulopa: uninhabited; lies in the Apolima Strait between Upolu and Savaii. * Apolima: population 75 (2006). * Upolu: 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 only 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 foun ...

native birds. * Namua: uninhabited * Fanuatapu: uninhabited; volcanic tuff ring. The islands of Manono, Apolima and Nuulopa lie in the Apolima Strait 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, in central South Pacific Ocean. The islands are eroded volcanic tuff rings, and consist of a small northern pair on Upolu's barrier reef, an ...

American Samoa

Tutuila Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisba ...

: 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 of the United States located in the territory of American Samoa, distributed across three islands: Tutuila, Ofu, and Taʻū. The park preserves and protects coral reefs, tropical rainfores ...

. * 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, an ...

;

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 ...

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 (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 exte ...

and endangered hawksbill turtle. *A number of minor uninhabited islets: Taputapu Island, Nuusetoga Island (Bartlett Island), Nuʻutele Island, Nuusilaelae Island, Pyramid Rock (Fatutoʻaga), Fatu Rock (Flowerpot Rock), Utusiva, Avaio, and Nu’upule Rock.

Location

The islands are approximately from

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, from

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

, from

, and from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, U.S. 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 commonly defined as a vent or fissure 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 fo ...

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 Lata Mountain is the summit of the island of Taʻū in the Manuʻa Islands. The summit of Lata Mountain is the highest point in American Samoa. The easiest route up is a 2.5mi (4km) trail maintained by the National Park Service. See also *Lis ...

, at .Sunia, Fofo I.F. (2009). ''A History of American Samoa''. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. .

Landmass

Upolu and Savai'i in Samoa are among the largest of the Polynesian islands, at and , respectively, Their size is exceeded only by the two substantially larger main islands of New Zealand Te Waipounamu and

Te Ika-a-Māui The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

as well as Rakiura, and the two main islands of Fiji and the Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. 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, Apolima and Nu'ulopa) located in the Apolima Strait between Savai'i and Upolu; the four

off the eastern end of Upolu ( Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua, and Fanuatapu); 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 International Date Line (IDL) is the line extending between the South and North Poles that is the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180.0° line of longitude and de ...

. 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, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

, 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 The Samoa hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located in the south Pacific Ocean. The hotspot model describes a hot upwelling plume of magma through the Earth's crust as an explanation of how volcanic islands are formed. The hotspot idea came from ...

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 ho ...

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 ...

) 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

seamount A seamount is a large submarine landform that rises from the ocean floor without reaching the water surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet, or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly a ...

s 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 The Tonga Trench is an oceanic trench located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is the deepest trench in the Southern hemisphere and the second deepest on Earth after the Mariana Trench. The fastest plate-tectonic velocity on Earth is occurri ...

. 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 (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

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-graben ...

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 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 seabed, 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 ...

took place in the region at 06:48:11 local time on September 29, 2009 (17:48:11

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

, September 29), followed by smaller aftershocks. It was the largest 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 Vailulu'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 s ...

, named after Samoa's goddess of war, Nafanua.

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 with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

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,

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, 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 Geography of Polynesia Eastern Indo-Pacific Marine ecoregions