Pago Pago, American Samoa
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Pago Pago (pronounced /ˈpɑŋo ˈpɑŋo/) by native Samoan-speakers and sometimes (/ˈpɑŋgoʊ ˈpɑŋgoʊ/ by others) is a village—oftentimes mistaken to be the capital city or the port city—of American Samoa, a territory of the United States of America. Its 1990 population was 10,640. The village is located on Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila. Tourism, entertainment, food, and tuna canning are the primary industries here. From 1878 to 1951, this was a coaling and repair station for the U.S. Navy.
Pago Pago is a mixture of colorful semi-urban communities, a small town, tuna canneries (which provide employment for a third of the population of Tutuila) and a harbor surrounded by dramatic cliffs, which plunge almost straight into the sea. A climb to the summit of Mt. Alava (see National Park of American Samoa) provides a magnificent bird's-eye view of the harbor and town. Until 1980, one could experience the view from the peak by taking an aerial tramway over the harbor, but on April 14 of that year a U.S. Navy plane, flying overhead as part of the Flag Day celebrations, struck the cable; the plane then crashed into a wing of the Rainmaker Hotel. The tram remains unusable, although according to Lonely Planet, plans have been put forth to reopen it. Less spectacular, but worth the drive, is the view from the top of the pass above Aua Village on the road to Afono.
Pago Pago is actually one of the several villages along the shore of the harbor and is located at the very back (inside) of the embayment. However, because the name Pago Pago is associated with the harbor itself—the only significant port of call in American Samoa—Pago Pago is now generally applied to the whole harbor area, the town and including the village.
On the other hand, both the port itself and the legislature of American Samoa—known as the Fono (/ˈfono/)—are located in Fagatogo, a village adjacent to (and for all practical purposes, indistinguishable from) Pago Pago. Similarly, the once famous Rainmaker Hotel (now closed) is located in the village of Utule‘i, adjacent to Fagatogo along the south shore of the long harbor. The canneries are located in Atu‘u, on the harbor's north shore. It is suggested that one must avoid eating any fish or invertebrate caught in Pago Pago Harbor because they are contaminated with heavy metals and other pollutants.[1]
[edit] External links
- Pago Pago, American Samoa National Weather Service Office
- Pago Pago Weather underground
- Photos of Pago-Pago - Terra Galleria
