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Agrihan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the island off southern Guam, seeAgrigan.
Agrigan
NASA Space Shuttle image of Agrihan
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates18°46′42″N145°40′17″E/ 18.77833°N 145.67139°E/18.77833; 145.67139
ArchipelagoNorthern Mariana Islands
Area44.05 km2(17.01 sq mi)[1]
Length9 km (5.6 mi)
Width6 km (3.7 mi)
Highest elevation965 m (3166 ft)
Highest pointMount Agrihan
Administration
United States
CommonwealthNorthern Mariana Islands
Demographics
Population4 (2020)

Agrihan(also spelledAgrigan) is an island in theNorthern Mariana Islandsin thePacific Ocean.The island has mostly been uninhabited, but had 4 permanent residents in the2020 U.S. census.Agrihan is located 62 kilometers (39 mi) to the north ofPagan.

History[edit]

Clouds drape the flat-topped summit of Agrihan, the highest of the Marianas arc volcanoes, in this view from the south.

The first European to discover the island wasGonzalo Gómez de Espinosa[es]on June 11, 1522. He named it "Cyco" or "La Griega" (The Greekin Spanish). Espinosa was on theTrinidadas part ofFerdinand Magellan's expedition, and called on the island while attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean toMexico.The residentChamorroswere hostile and he could not anchor, but kidnapped an islander for information.[2][3][4]The Spanish missionaryDiego Luis de San Vitoresvisited Agrihan in 1669 calling it "San Francisco Javier".[5]In 1695, the natives were forcibly removed toSaipan,and three years later toGuam.

In 1810, settlers from theKingdom of Hawaiiattempted to establish a settlement on Agrihan. In the 1870s, the first coconut plantations were established. Adolph Capelle, a merchant fromBrunswickinGermany,leased the island and exportedcopra,using around 20 seasonal workers from theCaroline Islands.Following the sale of the Northern Marianas by Spain to theGerman Empirein 1899, Agrihan was administered as part ofGerman New Guinea.During this time, a private firm, the Pagan Society, owned by a German and a Japanese partner, developed more coconut plantations. However, severe typhoons in September 1905 and September 1907 destroyed the plantations and bankrupted the company.[6]

DuringWorld War I,Agrihan came under the control of theEmpire of Japanand was subsequently administered as theSouth Seas Mandate.FollowingWorld War II,the island came under the control of theUnited Statesand was administered as part of theTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands.In 1967, the population was 94 people. Since 1978, the island has been part of theNorthern Islands Municipalityof theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.In 1990, the population was just 25 people.[7]

Due to increased volcanic activity, the islanders were evacuated in August 1990 when an eruption was feared. However, by 1992, although there were 25solfataras,a boiling hot spring and several steam vents, no eruption had taken place.[8]In 2000, six people returned to live in one of the original four settlements on the island. However, per the2010 census,Agrihan was uninhabited. Despite the data from the 2010 census, according to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Lands, settlement has since been reestablished in one of the four original villages, and as of September 2005 there remain nine inhabitants on the island.[9]The 2020 US census listed a population of 4.[10]

An expedition organized by John D. Mitchler and Reid Larson made the first known complete ascent to the summit of this peak on June 1, 2018.[11]

Geography[edit]

Map including Agrihan (DMA,1983)
Agrihan is heavily forested

Agrihan is a densely forested island, roughly elliptical in shape, with a length of 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) and a width of 6 km (3.7 mi) and an area of 44 km2(17 sq mi). The entire island is a massivestratovolcano,calledMount Agrihan,which rises over 4,000 meters (13,120 ft) from the ocean floor, and is the fifth largest in the Marianasvolcanic arc.At 976.5792 m (3,204 ft),[12]its summit is the highest point inMicronesia.

The volcano is topped by a largecaldera,1 x 2 km (0.6 x 1.2 mi) in size and about 500 m (1,640 ft) deep.[12]The caldera floor has several lava flows and two volcanic cones, which were probably created during the April 1917 eruption. The only relatively flat land on the island is along the southeast shoreline and on the north side of the central caldera.

Vegetation includes swordgrass(Miscanthus floridulus)grasslands on the upper slopes, forests of coconut palm(Cocos nucifera),with some breadfruit(Artocarpus altilis)and papaya(Carica papaya)on the lower slopes and within the deep ravines that descend radially from the summit.

Climate[edit]

Climate data for Agrihan, Northern Mariana Islands
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 67
(19) 		66
(19) 		66
(19) 		68
(20) 		70
(21) 		72
(22) 		72
(22) 		72
(22) 		72
(22) 		71
(22) 		70
(21) 		69
(21) 		70
(21)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 65
(18) 		64
(18) 		65
(18) 		67
(19) 		69
(21) 		70
(21) 		71
(22) 		71
(22) 		71
(22) 		70
(21) 		69
(21) 		67
(19) 		68
(20)
Averageprecipitationinches (mm) 1.3
(33) 		0.9
(23) 		1.0
(25) 		1.9
(48) 		3.0
(76) 		3.8
(97) 		7.6
(190) 		12.1
(310) 		10.8
(270) 		7.8
(200) 		3.8
(97) 		2.9
(74) 		56.9
(1,443)
Source: Meteoblue.com "Records and Averages for Agrihan".

Web:[1].

Demographics[edit]

As of 1980, the population of Agrihan was 54.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"14 AGRIHAN"(PDF).National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.p. 54.Archived(PDF)from the original on 15 November 2020.Retrieved15 November2020.
  2. ^Robert F. Rogers:Destiny's landfall. A history of Guam.University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu 1995,ISBN0824816781,S. 10.
  3. ^Sharp, AndrewThe discovery of the Pacific IslandsOxford, 1960, p.11.
  4. ^Brand, Donald D.The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical ExplorationsThe American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.119.
  5. ^Coello, Francisco "Conflicto hispano-alemán"Boletín de Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid,t.XIX. 2º semestre 1885, Madrid, p.299,300
  6. ^Gerd Hardach:König Kopra. Die Marianen unter deutscher Herrschaft 1899–1914.Steiner, Stuttgart 1990,ISBN3515057625,S. 23f, 32, 46.
  7. ^Budget.1990.
  8. ^MonatsberichteArchived2022-01-23 at theWayback MachinefromGlobal Volcanism Program.
  9. ^"Agrihan Is".Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.Retrieved8 June2020.
  10. ^2020 Commonwealth of Marianas Census Table 2
  11. ^Frick-Wright, Peter (15 January 2019)."The Obsessive Quest of High Pointers".Outside.Retrieved30 January2019.
  12. ^ab"Agrigan".Global Volcanism Program.Smithsonian Institution.Retrieved2007-04-09.
  13. ^Northern Mariana Islands Coastal Resources Management: Environmental Impact Statement.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,1980. p.37.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAgrigan Island.
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