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Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana IslandsThe '''Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands''' (CNMI) is a commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|commonwealth in political union with the United States|United States of America at a strategic location in the West Pacific Ocean. It consists of 14 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines, at {{coor dms|15|1|2|N|145|4|5|E|}}. <table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 align=right width=285px style="margin-left: 0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em"> <caption><font size=+1>'''Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands'''</font></caption> <tr><td style=background:#efefef; align=center colspan=2> <table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0> <tr><td align=center width=140px>Image:Mariana flag large.png|140px|Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands <td align=center width=140px>Image:Mariana_COA.png|110px|Coat of arms of Northern Mariana Islands <tr><td align=center width=140px><font size=-1>(Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands|In Detail)</font> <td align=center width=140px><font size=-1>(Coat of arms of the Northern Mariana Islands|In Detail)</font> </table> <tr><td align=center colspan=2 style=border-bottom:3px solid gray;><font size=-1>''National motto: ''</font> <tr><td align=center colspan=2>Image:LocationNorthernMarianas.png</td></tr> <tr><td>Official languages<td>English language|English, Chamorro language|Chamorro, Carolinian language|Carolinian <tr><td>Capital<td>Saipan <tr><td>Chief of state<td>George W. Bush <tr><td>List of Northern Mariana Islands Governors|Governor<td>Juan N. Babauta <tr><td>Resident Representative of the Northern Mariana Islands|Resident Representative<td>Pedro Agulto Tenorio <tr><td>Area<br> - Total <br> - % water<td>List of countries by area|Ranked 230th <br>1 E8 m2|477 square kilometre|km² <br> Negl. <tr><td>Population <br> - Total (2003) <br> - Population density|Density <td>List of countries by population|Ranked N/A<br> 80,006 (July 2003 est.) <br>168/km² <tr><td>Independence<td> none (in political union with the United States|USA) <tr><td>Currency<td>US dollar (USD) <tr><td>Time zone<td>UTC+10 <tr><td>National anthem<td>Gi Talo Gi Halom Tase <tr><td>Top-level domain|Internet TLD<td>.mp <tr><td>List_of_country_calling_codes|Calling Code<td>+1 670 </table> The islands?Saipan, Tinian, Rota (island)|Rota, Aguijan, Farallon de Medinilla, Anatahan, Sarigan, Guguan, Alamagan, Pagan Island|Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion, Maug, and Farallon de Pajaros?total some 1 E8 m2|477 square kilometers. Saipan, Tinian, and Rota have the only ports and harbors, and are the only permanently populated islands. ==Climate and Geography== Image:Mpud.jpg|thumb|left|Current Northern Mariana Islands license plate. 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, the rainy season from July to October can include typhoons. The southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; the northern islands are volcanic, with active volcanoes on Anatahan, Pagan Island|Pagan and Agrihan. (The volcano on Agrihan is the highest elevation in the islands at 965 meters (3,165 feet)). About one-fifth of the land is arable, another tenth is permanent pasture. The primary natural resource is fish, which causes conflict with the protection of endangered species. Past development has created landfills that must be cleaned up and has caused contamination of groundwater on Saipan, which may contribute to disease. The islands have over 350 kilometers of highways, three airports with paved runways (one some 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) long, two around 2,000 (6560 feet) meters), three airports with unpaved runways (one about 3,000 meters long, two under 1,000 (3280 feet) meters), and one heliport. Anatahan Volcano is a small volcanic island located 120 km (80 miles) north of Saipan Island and 320 km (200 miles) north of Guam. The island is about 9 km (5.6 miles) long and 3 km (2 miles) wide. Anatahan began erupting suddenly from its east crater at about 5:00 p.m. on May 10, 2003. image:CNMImap-CIA.jpg|315px|thumb|right|Map of the Northern Mariana Islands Since then it has continued to alternate between eruptive and calm periods. On April 6, 2005, approximately 50,000 cubic meters of ash and rock were ejected, causing a large, black cloud to drift southward over Saipan and Tinian. Recent eruptions have caused some commercial flights to re-route. ==History== The first European in these waters was Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, who landed on nearby Guam and claimed the islands for Spain. Angry at larcenous natives, he first dubbed the islands "Las Islas de los Ladrones", (The Islands of the Thieves), but in 1668 their name was changed to Las Marianas after Mariana of Austria, widow of Spain's Philip IV of Spain|Philip IV. Nearly all of the islands' native population died out during Spanish rule, but new settlers from modern-day Micronesia repopulated them to some extent. Sold to Germany in 1899, the Japanese took over in 1914 and turned the island into a military garrison. During World War II, the Marines landed on June 15, 1944 and eventually won the bitterly fought three-week Battle of Saipan. After Japan's defeat, the islands were administered by the United States as part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; thus, defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the US. The people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. On September 23, 2004 Congressman Richard Pombo of California introduced H. R. 5135 - the ''Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act''. The bill, if it becomes law, would allow CNMI to elect a nonvoting delegate to the U.S. Congress starting with the U.S. House election, 2006|2006 election. The bill died at the end of the 108th Congress. On February 18, 2005, the ''Delegate Act'' was reintroduced by Pombo with a new number, H.R. 873. [http://www.resrep.gov.mp/press%20releases/873%20drop.htm] ''From the CIA World Factbook 2000. Not Wikified.'' *Demographics of the Northern Mariana Islands *Politics of the Northern Mariana Islands *Economy of the Northern Mariana Islands *Communications on the Northern Mariana Islands *Music of the Northern Mariana Islands ==External links== *[http://www.gov.mp/ Northern Mariana Islands Official Site] *[http://www.saipansucks.com/ Negative site about life in CNMI] *[http://www.southpacific.org/micro.html Moon Handbooks Micronesia] *[http://www.mymicronesia.com/northernmarianas/ myMicronesia/Northern Marianas section] *[http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/pacific/northern_mariana_islands/history.htm www.lonelyplanet.com] *[http://www.theorator.com/bills109/hr873.html H.R. 873 - the Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act] *[http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/viewrecord?25329 Satellite Image of Anatahan Ash Plume] {{Northern Mariana Islands}} {{United_States}} {{Pacific_Islands}} Category:Insular areas of the United States Category:Northern Mariana Islands Category:Micronesia ca:Illes Mariannes Septentrionals da:Nordmarianerne de:Nördliche Marianen et:Põhja-Mariaanid es:Islas Marianas del Norte eo:Nord-Marianoj fr:Îles Mariannes du Nord id:Kepulauan Mariana Utara nl:Noordelijke Marianen ja:北マリアナ諸島 pl:Mariany Północne pt:Marianas Setentrionais sl:Severni Marianski otoki fi:Pohjois-Mariaanit sv:Nordmarianerna zh:北马里亚纳群岛 zh-min-nan:Pak Mariana Kûn-tó First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on Northern Mariana Islands is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. 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