Destination Fact File
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Guam's indigenous inhabitants, the Chamorros, first populated the island around 6,000 years ago. The islands European history dates back to 1668 with the arrival of Padre San Vitores, a Spanish missionary. Then the island was captured from Spain by the United States during the Spanish American War in 1898. It is the largest island in Micronesia and was the only American held island in the region before World War II. Guam was occupied by the Japanese between December 1941 and July 1944.
The island has an area 544 km² meaning it is the 31st largest island in the United States. It is the southernmost island in the Mariana island chain and is the largest island in Micronesia. This island chain was created by the colliding Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates.
This fascinating destination offers the deepest point on earth, Challenger Deep, it is southwest of Guam and 10,911m deep. The highest point in Guam is Mount Lamlam, which is 406m. The island of Guam is 48 km long and 6 km to 19 km wide. The island experiences occasional earthquakes due to it being on the western edge of the Pacific Plate and near the Philippine plate. In recent years, earthquakes with epicentres near Guam have recorded magnitudes ranging from 5.0 to 8.7.
The island is different from one end to the other, the northern part of the island is a forested flat terrain while the south is scattered with volcanic peaks covered in forest and grassland. The island is surrounded by beautiful coral reefs and tropical fish. The population is most dense in the northern and central regions.
The climate in Guam is referred to as tropical. It is generally hot and very humid with little seasonal temperature variation. The average high temperature is 30 °C and the low is 24 °C with an average annual rainfall of 2,180 mm. The dry season runs from December through to June. The remaining months constitute the rainy season. The months of January and February are considered the coolest months of the year with night time temperatures in the mid to low 20's and generally lower humidity levels. The highest risk of typhoons is during October and November.