American Samoa

From MaxTravelz

American Samoa is a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean that lie about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand and about 100km east of the island country of Samoa, which is part of the same archipelago.

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. In practical terms, this means very little. The citizens of American Samoa are US "nationals" and not US "citizens," but they are allowed to travel freely between the American Samoa and the US Mainland. They are not required to obtain green cards or visas to stay or work in the United States, and they are allowed to serve in the US armed forces (and often do). There are some ways that American Samoa's special status as an unincorporated territory have interesting legal consequences. The US Constitution is not necessarily the supreme law of the land in American Samoa, and Samoan cultural norms -- in particular, those related to the ownership of property and public displays of religion -- actually trump certain well-settled US constitutional rights in American Samoa.

Contents 1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 5 Get in 5.1 By plane 5.2 By boat 6 Get around 6.1 By car 6.2 By bus 7 Talk 8 Buy 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Sleep 12 Learn 13 Work 14 Stay safe 15 Stay healthy 16 Respect 17 Contact 18 Get out

Regions

• Tutuila - The main island.
• Ofu
• Olosega
• Ta'u
• Rose Island
• Swains Island

Administrative divisions 

none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Western

Cities

Pago Pago (pronounced "Pango Pango") - capital city

Other destinations

Understand

Population 68,688 (July 2002 est.)

The islands are frequently referred to as Samoa, which is the name of a separate island, and independent country, that used to be known as Western Samoa, that lies about 100km west of American Samoa. Also the whole island group, including Samoa, are often identified as the Samoan islands.

Settled as early as 1000 B. C. by Polynesian navigators, Samoa was discovered by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year.

Get in

By plane

By boat

Get around

By car

By bus

Talk

• The native language is Samoan, a Polynesian language related to Hawaiian and other Pacific island languages.
• English is widely spoken, and most people can at least understand it. Most people are bilingual to some degree.

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Learn

Work

Stay safe

Stay healthy

Respect

Contact

Get out

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