Geography of the Northern Mariana Islands

File:Northern Mariana Islands map.gif

Map of the Northern Mariana Islands.

File:Asuncion Island Aerial.jpg

Asuncion Island.

File:Map Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.jpg

The Marianas Trench, with some of deepest ocean on the planet wraps around the Northern Mariana's and is National Marine Monument since 2009

The Northern Mariana Islands, together with Guam to the south, compose the Mariana Islands. The southern islands are limestone, with level terraces and fringing coral reefs. The northern islands are volcanic, with active volcanoes on Anatahan, Pagan and Agrihan. The volcano on Agrihan has the highest elevation at . About one-fifth of the land is arable; another tenth is pasture. The primary natural resource is fish, some of which are endangered species, which leads to conflict. Also, development has created landfills which have contaminated the groundwater on Saipan, which could lead to disease.

Anatahan Volcano is a small volcanic island north of Saipan. It is about long and wide. Anatahan began erupting suddenly from its east crater on May 10, 2003, at about 6 p.m. local time (08:00 UTC). It has since alternated between eruptive and calm periods. On April 6, 2005, approximately of ash and rock were ejected, causing a large, black cloud to drift south over Saipan and Tinian.

Climate

The islands have a tropical marine climate moderated by seasonal northeast trade winds. There is little seasonal temperature variation. The dry season runs from December to June, and the rainy season from July to November and can include typhoons. The Guinness Book of World Records has cited Saipan as having the most equable climate in the world. From 1927 to 1935, the temperature ranged from at the lowest to at the highest.

See also

• Extreme points of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Marianas Trench Marine National Monument

References

Template:United States topic