Sarigan or Sariguan is an uninhabited

volcanic island Geologically, a volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term high island can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. It is part of the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...

, a U.S. territory. Sarigan is located northeast of Anatahan island, south of Guguan and north of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, the largest island in the Northern Marianas. The island has been sparsely populated, but in modern times has been uninhabited due to volcanic activity. It is a currently a nature preserve.

History

Sarigan was originally settled by the

Chamorros The Chamorro people (; also Chamoru) are the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia, a commonweal ...

. The island was first charted by Europeans in late October 1543 by Spanish explorer

Bernardo de la Torre Bernardo de la Torre or della Torres (died 1545) was a Spanish explorer during the Age of Discovery. He participated in Ruy López de Villalobos's failed expedition to establish a greater Spanish presence in the East Indies. Stuck for months on th ...

on board of the carrack ''San Juan de Letrán'' when trying to return from Sarangani to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. In 1695, the natives were forcibly removed to

, and three years later to

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 ...

. Following the sale of the Northern Marianas by Spain to the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in 1899, Agrigan was administered as part of

German New Guinea German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...

. The island was used as a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

from 1900 to 1906. The prisoners, who lived some with their families on Sarigan were mainly employed by the coconut plantations. In 1909, the island was leased by the Pagan Society, a German-Japanese partnership, which continued to export

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 ...

. The company also employed fowlers to hunt birds for feathers for export to Japan and Europe. However, the Pagan Society fell into financial difficulties from 1912. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Sarigan came under the control of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

and was subsequently administered as part of the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

. In the 1930s, between 10 and 20 families lived on the island. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the island came under the control 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 ...

and the residents were removed from the island. As of 1947, the island was administered as part of the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the U.S. during the Pacifi ...

. Since 1978, the island has been part of the Northern Islands Municipality of the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.Lin, Tom C.W.Amer ...

. Today, the island is a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

, and in the mid-1990s, a project was launched to rid Sarigan of its population of feral animals; today, only a few cats remain. Sarigan has been proposed as a site for relocation of endangered birds from Guam and Saipan. On May 28, 2010, a

submarine volcano Submarine volcanoes are underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. Many submarine volcanoes are located near areas of tectonic plate formation, known as mid-ocean ridges. The volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges ...

to the south erupted a brief cloud of steam and ash that briefly rose to and left a trail of

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...

debris on the surface of the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Sarigan was declared off-limits by the government of the Northern Mariana Islands after the eruption.

Geography

Sarigan is roughly triangular in shape, with a length of and a width of and an area of .Brainard
''Coral reef ecosystem monitoring report''
S. 1 The island is the summit of a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

which rises to an altitude of above sea level at its highest peak. The volcano is topped by a caldera, 750 meters in diameter, with an ash cone and two

lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...

s, which produced

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

s which reached the coast. No eruptions have been recorded in the historical period, although a swarm of

volcano 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 oft ...

tectonic Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s took place here in the summer of 2005. Landing on Sarigan is difficult because perpendicular cliffs surround much of the island. It has many

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

s and valleys with dense

tropical vegetation Tropical vegetation is any vegetation in tropical latitudes. Plant life that occurs in climates that are warm year-round is in general more biologically diverse than in other latitudes. Some tropical areas may receive abundant rain the whole y ...

, particularly on the northern side of the island. The stratovolcano is at the southern end of the island, and there is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

north of it with an elevation of and a width of . To the north of the plateau are steep, vegetation-covered slopes, which go down to the sea. The island's north-western coast is the most habitable, climbing from an elevation of to in and having a lot of vegetation. Approximately south of Sarigan is the South Sarigan Seamount, a

with several peaks, with a maximum height of 184 m below sea level. It briefly erupted in May 2010 producing a plume of water vapor about 12 km high.

Important Bird Area

The island has been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports populations of Micronesian megapodes, white-throated ground doves, Micronesian myzomelas and Micronesian starlings.

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

* . * Russell E. Brainard et al.: ''Coral reef ecosystem monitoring report of the Mariana Archipelago: 2003–2007.'' (=''PIFSC Special Publication'', SP-12-01)

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...

Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 2012
Kapitel Alamagan
(englisch, PDF, 12,2 MB)). * Richard B. Moore, Frank A. Trusdell: ''Geologic map of Alamagan Volcano, northern Mariana Islands.''

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

1993
Download
.

External links

*

and ttp://gaebler.info/sonstiges/marianen.htm#sarigan Sarigan {{Authority control Stratovolcanoes of the United States Volcanoes of the Northern Mariana Islands Islands of the Northern Mariana Islands Former German colonies Uninhabited islands of the Northern Mariana Islands Important Bird Areas of the Northern Mariana Islands