Tinian
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Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (14°59’51”N, 145°37’39”E). Its largest village is San Jose. Tinian is about 5 miles (8km) southwest of its sister island, Saipan. It has a land area of 39.00 sq.mi. (101.01 km²). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguijan Island (2.74 sq mi, or 7.09 km²), it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern Marianas. The total area of the municipality is 41.74 sq mi (108.1 km²). Lightly populated, but heavily garrisoned by Japanese forces in World War II, Tinian, with its sister islands, had passed through Spanish and German hands prior to becoming a Protectorate of Japan after World War I. Under Japanese administration, Tinian was largely a sugar plantation.
Tinian was captured by the United States in July 1944 in the battle of Tinian. The island was transformed into the busiest airbase of the war, with two B-29 airfields (West and North) having six 8,500 foot (2700 m) runways. The Japanese had constructed three small fighter strips on Tinian but none were suitable for bomber operations. When the United States turned the entire island, excepting its three highland areas, into a 40,000-personnel installation, construction engineers laid out the base in a pattern of city streets resembling Manhattan and named the streets accordingly. The area south of West Field which was developed from the main Japanaese installation at Sunharon was nicknamed "The Village" because its location corresponded to that of Greenwich Village, and a large square area between West and North Fields, used primarily only for the location of the base hospitals and otherwise left undeveloped was called Central Park.
It was from Tinian that the bombers carrying the atomic bombs Little Boy and Fat Man were launched against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The airfields now lie overgrown and abandoned. There is a memorial on the old airfield at the bombbay loading pits, which had been filled in for safety reasons but were both recently excavated in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian. Originally the pits had been dug to fit the large bombs into the planes which would be maneuvered over top of a pit with their cargo holds open in order to facilitate loading. Each bomb was too large to fit under the respective planes otherwise.
Tinian has two gas stations and a CasinoThe Dynasty, which includes a luxury hotel, shops and restaraunts and is adjacent to two of Tinian's beautiful beaches, Chogna beach and Taga Beach. The villiage of San Jose, also has several smaller hotels and restaraunts and bars. The airport is small and serviced by two airlines, Freedom Air, which operated daily scheduled flights, and Taga Air, which operates by charter. There is also ferry boat service twice daily between Tinian and Saipan.
Points of Interest on the Island include the North Field, which is where the remains of the US bomber base and Atom Bomb Pits as well as the remains of Japanese fortifications can be found. On the Southern end of the Island is "Suicide Cliff" where Japanese soldiers and civilians jumped to their deaths as the Americans invaded. Today the site is home to shrines and memorials and provides a dazzling view of the ocean. Also from the Japanese period of the Island's history is the only intact Shinto shrine on the Mariana Islands.
There are also the ruins of the House of King Taga, one of the rulers of the Mariana Islands during the Pre-Spanish period. The House of Taga is a Latte Stone site, which consists of the largest such structures in the Marians. The stones are quarried limestone, each approximately 20 feet in length. Of the eight large Latte structures, only one is still standing.
The Island is home to a beautiful variety of Flora and Fauna, as well as great limestone cliffs and caves. There is also a great variety of marine life and great coarl reefs surrounding the island. Its clear, warm waters are ideal for snorkeling and scuba diving, as well as sport fishing.
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Much of the local economy is dependant on tourism. The largest employers on the island is the Government and the Casino.
As of March 2006, the island has plans to put in four new casinos. The 2000 census showed a population of 3,540 [1] for the island.
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[edit] External links
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Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands |
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