Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are a volcanic island chain in the western Pacific, comprising Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. They lie along the Mariana Trench, where the Pacific Plate descends beneath the Mariana Plate.

Mariana Trench: A crescent-shaped oceanic trench in the western Pacific, reaching the greatest measured depths in the world ocean. The trench marks the subduction zone immediately east of the island arc.
Guam: An island in the western Pacific and an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States. Guam is the southernmost and largest island in the Mariana chain.
Chamorro people: The Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, with a distinct language and cultural traditions. Chamorro communities have shaped the islands' societies since settlement long before European contact.
Battle of Guam (1944): A 1944 battle in which United States forces recaptured Guam from Japan during World War II. The battle returned the chain's largest island to United States control.
Mariana Plate: A tectonic plate carrying the Mariana island arc and overriding the Pacific Plate at the Mariana Trench. Its motion and boundary with the Pacific Plate shape the islands' tectonic setting.
Northern Mariana Islands: A United States commonwealth in the western Pacific, consisting of the northern Mariana Islands. They comprise the chain's northern islands, separate politically from Guam.
Carolinian people: An Indigenous Micronesian people with communities in the Northern Mariana Islands and elsewhere in Micronesia. Carolinian migration added another Indigenous community to the northern part of the chain.
Battle of Saipan: A 1944 World War II battle in which United States forces captured Saipan from Japan. Saipan's capture gave the United States a major airbase near Japan.
Pacific Plate: The largest tectonic plate, consisting mainly of oceanic crust beneath the Pacific Ocean. Its descent beneath the Mariana Plate fuels the arc's earthquakes and volcanism.
Rota: A volcanic island in the Northern Mariana Islands, between Guam and Tinian. Rota is one of the southern islands of the Northern Mariana group.

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