Америкалық Самоаның астанасы – Паго-Паго

Capital city of American Samoa

Pago Pago ('/p//ɑː//ŋ//ɡ//ɔː/'/p//ɑː//ŋ//ɡ//ɔː/ PAHNGgawPAHNGgaw; Samoan: ) is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. Pago Pago is home to one of the deepest natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered from wind and rough seas, and strategically located. The harbor is also one of the best protected in the South Pacific, which gives American Samoa a natural advantage because it makes landing fish for processing easier. The total value of fish landed in Pago Pago — about $200,000,000 annually — is higher than in any other port in any U. S. state or territory. Pago Pago is the only modern urban center in American Samoa, and the main port of American Samoa. It is also home to the territorial government, all the industry, and most of the commerce in American Samoa. The Greater Pago Pago Metropolitan Area encompasses several villages strung together along Pago Pago Harbor. One of the villages is itself named Pago Pago, and in 2010 that village had a population of 3,656. The constituent villages are: Utulei, Fagatogo, Malaloa, Pago Pago, Satala and Atu'u. Fagatogo is the downtown area, referred to as "town", and is home to the legislature, while the executive seat is in Utulei. Also in Fagatogo are the Fono, police department, the Port of Pago Pago, and many shops and hotels. In 2000, the Greater Pago Pago area was home to 8,000 residents; by 2010 the population had increased to 15,000. Rainmaker Mountain (Mount Pioa), which is located in Pago Pago, contributes to a weather pattern that results in the city having the highest annual rainfall of any harbor in the world. It stands protectively over the eastern side of Pago Pago, making the harbor one of the most sheltered deepwater anchorages in the Pacific Ocean. Historically, the strategic location of Pago Pago Bay played a direct role in the political separation of Western and Eastern Samoa. The initial reason that the U. S. was interested in Tutuila was its desire to use Pago Pago Harbor as a coaling station. The town has the distinction of being the southernmost U. S. capital, and the only one located in the Southern Hemisphere.

The letter "g" in Samoan sounds like "ng"; thus Pago Pago is pronounced "Pango Pango." An early name for Pago Pago was Long Bay (Samoan: O le Fagaloa), which was a name used by the first permanent inhabitants to settle in the Pago Pago area. It was also called O le Maputasi ("The Single Chief's House") in compliment to the Mauga, who lived at Gagamoe in Pago Pago and was the senior to all the other chiefs in the area. There is archeological evidence of people living in the Pago Pago Valley at least 1500 1300 years ago. The ancient people of Tutuila produced clay pottery known as Samoan Plainware. The majority of these open bowls had plain designs and featured rounded bases. Such pottery has been retrieved from sites in Pago Pago, including at Vaipito. The production of such pottery ceased approximately 1500 years ago. A site in the Vaipito Valley has also revealed more substantial elements, such as constructions made from rocks, like house foundations and terraces (lau mafola). Ceramic findings have been retrieved at Vaipito, an inland area within Pago Pago village. A deposit here is thought to be an old hill slope below a living area where people threw away their waste. Numerous large ceramic pieces have been retrieved here. The layer with the ceramics dates back to the time between 350 BCE and 10 CE. Another site, Fo’isia, is located approximately 100 meters from Vaipito, at the same elevation inland in Pago Pago. During sewer line construction, the American Samoa Power Authority noticed many broken pieces of clay pottery. Five dates associated with the ceramics indicate a time range between 370 BCE and 130 CE. The island of Tutuila was part of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire from the invasion around 950 CE to when Tongans were expelled in 1250. According to Samoan folklore, a warrior from Pago Pago, Fua’au, is associated with driving the Tongans out of Tutuila. According to the legend, Fua’au’s fiancé, Tauoloasi’i, was kidnapped and taken to Tonga while sleeping on an exquisite mat known as Moeilefuefue. Filled with anger at the loss of his fiancé and the renowned mat, Fua’au rallied the Tutuilans, encouraging them to revolt against the Tongan rule imposed by Lautivunia. When Westerners first visited Tutuila, the Mauga was the leading matai (chief) of Pago Pago.

Two missionaries were assigned to Tutuila Island in the 1830s: Reverend Murray and his wife to Pago Pago and Reverend Barnden to Leone. They landed at Fagasa Bay and hiked over the hill to the High Chief Mauga in Pago Pago. Mauga welcomed the missionaries and gave them support. RMS RMS Dunottar Castle later moved to Pago Pago, becoming the second ship to enter Pago Pago Harbor. The missionaries later chose to establish their headquarters at Leone. As early as 1839, American interest was generated for the Pago Pago area when Commander Charles Wilkes, head of the United States Exploring Expedition, surveyed Pago Pago Harbor and the island. Rumors of possible annexation by Britain or Germany were taken seriously by the U. S., and the U. S. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish sent Colonel Albert Steinberger to negotiate with Samoan chiefs on behalf of American interests. American interest in Pago Pago was also a result of Tutuila's central position in one of the world's richest whaling grounds. In 1871, the local steamer business of W. H. Webb required coal and he sent Captain E. Wakeman to Samoa in order to evaluate the suitability of Pago Pago as a coaling station. Wakeman approved the harbor and alerted the U. S. Navy about Germany's intent to take over the area. The U. S. Navy responded a few months later by dispatching Commander Richard Meade from Honolulu, Hawaii to assess Pago Pago's suitability as a naval station. Meade arrived in Pago Pago on Narragansett and made a treaty with the Mauga for the exclusive use of the harbor and a set of commercial regulations to govern the trading and shipping in Pago Pago. He also purchased land for a new naval station. It was acquired by the United States through a treaty in 1877. One year after the naval base was built at Pearl Harbor in 1887, the U. S. government established a naval station in Pago Pago. It was primarily used as a fueling station for both naval and commercial ships. The U. S. Navy first established a coaling station in 1878, right outside Fagatogo. The United States Navy later bought land east of Fagatogo and on Goat Island, an adjacent peninsula. Sufficient land was obtained in 1898 and the construction of United States Naval Station Tutuila was completed in 1902. The station commander doubled as American Samoa's Governor from 1899 to 1905, when the station commandant was designated Naval Governor of American Samoa. The Fono (legislature) served as an advisory council to the governor. Despite being a part of the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany maintained a strong naval presence in the Samoan Islands. Twice between 1880 and 1900, the U. S. Navy came close to taking part in a shooting war while its only true interest was the establishment of a coaling station in Pago Pago. The U. S. quietly purchased land around the harbor for the construction of the naval station. It rented land on Fagatogo Beach for $10/month in order to store the coal. Admiral Kimberly was ordered to Pago Pago while in Apia waiting for transportation home after the hurricane of 1889. In Pago Pago, he selected a site for the new coaling station and naval base. In June 1890, the U. S. Congress passed an appropriation of $100,000 for the purpose of permanently establishing a station for the naval and commercial marine. With the appropriation, the State Department sent Consul Sewall from Apia to Pago Pago to buy six tracts of land for the project. Some parts were previously owned by the Polynesian Land Company, while other tracts were still owned by Samoan families. For the defense of the harbor in event of a naval war, the U. S. Navy wanted to purchase headlands and mountainsides above the Lepua Catholic Church which directly faced the harbor's entrance. A California based construction and engineering firm was contracted to build the coal depot in 1898. The naval engineer in charge was W. I. Chambers. On April 30, 1899, Commander Benjamin Franklin Tilley sailed from Norfolk, Virginia on Abarenda with a cargo of coal and steel for the project. The U. S. Navy was the only American agency present in the area, and it was made responsible for administering the new territory. Pago Pago became the administrative capital of American Samoa in 1899.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Pago Pago became American Samoa's port of entry.

English author W. Somerset Maugham and his secretary Gerald Haxton visited Pago Pago from December 16, 1916, to January 30, 1917 on their way from Hawaii to Tahiti. Also on board the ship was a passenger named Miss Sadie Thompson, who had been evicted from Hawaii for prostitution. She was later the main character in the popular short story, Rain (1921), a story of a prostitute arriving in Pago Pago. Delayed because of a quarantine inspection, they checked into what is now known as Sadie Thompson Inn. Maugham also met an American sailor here, who later appeared as the title character in another short story, Red (1921). The Sadie Thompson Inn was added to the U. S. National Register of Historic Places in 2003. When the U. S. joined World War I in May 1917, two German ships anchoring in Pago Pago were seized. The 10,000 ton Elsass was towed to Honolulu and turned over to the U. S. Navy, while its smaller gunboat, Solf, was refitted in Pago Pago and given the name Samoa. Wireless messaging between Pago Pago and Hawaii was routed through Fiji. As the British censored all messages through Fiji, the Navy quickly upgraded the facilities to go directly between Pago Pago and Honolulu. Limited improvements at the naval station took place in the summer of 1940, which included a Marine Corps airfield at Tafuna. The new airfield was partly operational by April 1942, and fully operational by June. On March 15, 1941, the Marine Corps' 7th Defense Battalion arrived in Pago Pago and was the first Fleet Marine Force unit to serve in the South Pacific Ocean. It was also the first such unit to be deployed in defense of an American island. Guns were emplaced at Blunts and Breakers Points, covering Pago Pago Harbor. It trained the only Marine reserve unit to serve on active duty during World War II, namely the 1st Samoan Battalion, U. S. Marine Corps Reserve. The battalion mobilized after the attack on Pearl Harbor and remained active until January 1944. On January 20, 1942, the 2nd Marine Brigade arrived in Pago Pago with about 5,000 men and various supplies of weaponry, including cannons and tanks. Pago Pago and the U. S. Naval Station was visited by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on August 24, 1943.

Pago Pago was an important location for NASA's Apollo program from 1961 to 1972. Apollo 10, Apollo 11, Apollo 12, Apollo 13, Apollo 14 and Apollo 17 landed by Tutuila Island, and the crew flew from Pago Pago to Honolulu on their way back to the mainland. At Jean P. Haydon Museum are displays of an American Samoa flag brought to the Moon in 1969 by Apollo 11, as well as moonstones, all given as a gift to American Samoa by President Richard Nixon following the return of the Apollo Moon missions. The museum was officially opened in October 1971 with an opening featuring Margaret Mead as a guest speaker. The National Endowment for the Arts provided a start up grant. The most valuable asset was an exquisite mat reputed to be the Fala o Futa, the first important fine mat of Samoa, donated by Senate President HC Salanoa S. P. Aumoeualogo. The other major contribution was a cannon which came off Kamiloa, a 171 ton steamer and the only warship in the fleet of King Kalakaua of Hawai'i. The Hawaiian king sent the ship to the Samoan Islands in an effort at creating a Polynesian kingdom. President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson visited Pago Pago on October 18, 1966. Johnson remains the only U. S. President to have visited American Samoa. Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center was named in honor of the president. Landing ahead of the Air Force One was the press plane that carried seventy news reporters. The two hour visit was televised throughout the country and the world. Governor H. Rex Lee and traditional leaders crammed ceremonies, entertainment, a brief tour, and a school dedication: the Manulele Tausala, Lady Bird Johnson School. The President gave a speech where he laid out the American policy for its lone South Pacific territory. The President and First Lady returned to American Samoa in December 1966, on their way to Prime Minister's Harold Holt's funeral in Australia. Governor Owen Aspinall offered a quiet welcome as the White House asked for there to be no ceremonies during the visit. Around 3,000 spectators went to the Pago Pago International Airport to see the President. In 1972, seven historical buildings in American Samoa were entered in the National Register of Historic Places of the United States, including Navy Building 38, Jean P. Haydon Museum, and the Government House. In 1986, the First Invitational Canoe Race was held in Pago Pago. Pago Pago hosted the 10th annual Festival of Pacific Arts from July 20 through August 2, 2008. In 2010, Tri Marine Group, the world's largest supplier of fish, purchased the plant assets of Samoa Packing and committed $34 million for a state of the art tuna packing facility. when he made a stopover in Pago Pago in April 2017. He addressed 200 soldiers here during his refueling stop. U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited town on June 3, 2017. In August 2017, the Fono building in Fagatogo was demolished. In 2018, four months of repair took place at the ASG owned Ronald Reagan Shipyard in Satala. A North Korean cargo ship seized by the United States arrived in Pago Pago for inspections in 2019.

On September 29, 2009, an earthquake struck in the South Pacific, near Samoa and American Samoa, sending a tsunami into Pago Pago and surrounding areas. The tsunami caused moderate to severe damage to villages, buildings and vehicles and caused 34 deaths and hundreds of injuries. It was an 8.3 magnitude earthquake which caused 5 feet (2 m) waves to hit the city. It caused major flooding and damaged numerous buildings. A local power plant was disabled, 241 homes were destroyed, and 308 homes had major damage. Shortly after the earthquake, President Barack Obama issued a federal disaster declaration, which authorized funds for individual assistance (IA), such as temporary housing. The largest wave hit Pago Pago at 6:13 pm local time, with an amplitude of 6.5 feet (2 m).

Pago Pago is in the Eastern District of American Samoa, in Ma'oputasi County. It is approximately southwest of Hawaii, northeast of New Zealand, and southwest of California. It is located at Pago Pago is located 18 degrees south of the equator. The city of Pago Pago encompasses several surrounding villages, including Fagatogo, the legislative and judicial capital, and Utulei, the executive capital and home of the Governor. The main downtown area is Fagatogo on the south shore of Pago Pago Harbor, the location of the Fono (territorial legislature), the port, the bus station and the market. The banks are in Utulei and Fagotogo, as are the Sadie Thompson Inn and other hotels. The tuna canneries, which provide employment for a third of the population of Tutuila, are in Atu'u on the north shore of the harbor. The village of Pago Pago is at the western head of the harbor. Pago Pago Harbor nearly bisects Tutuila Island. It is facing south and situated almost midpoint on the island. Its bay is 0.6 mile (1 km) wide and 2.5 mile (4 km) long. A 1,630 feet (497 m) high mountain, Mount Pioa (Rainmaker Mountain), is located at the east side of the bay. Half of American Samoa's inhabitants live along Pago Pago's foothills and coastal areas. The downtown area is known as Fagatogo and is home to government offices, port facilities, Samoan High School and the Rainmaker Hotel. Two tuna factories are located in the northern part of town. The town is centered around the mouth of the Vaopito Stream. Five species of Gobie fish, Mountain bass, Freshwater eel, Mullet and four shrimp species have been recorded along the lower reach of the Vaipito Stream. North of town is the National Park of American Samoa. A climb to the summit of Mount Alava in the National Park of American Samoa provides a bird's eye view of the harbor and town.

Agriculture and fishing still provide sustenance for local families. It has been described as a "thoroughly Americanized" city. Fagatogo is Pago Pago's chief governmental and commercial center. Pago Pago Park is a public park by the harbor in Pago Pago. It lies by the Laolao Stream at the very end of Pago Pago Harbor. It is a recreational complex and culture center. There are a ball field, sports court and boat ramp in the park. The park houses businesses such as the American Samoa Development Bank. There are basketball and tennis courts, a football field, a gymnasium, a bowling alley and several Korean food kiosks in the park. The Korean House was built as a social center for the Korean fishermen in town.]] Pago Pago is the primary entry point for visits to National Park of American Samoa, and the city is situated immediately south of the park. Its park visitor center is located at the head of Pago Pago Harbor: Pago Plaza Visitor Center (Pago Plaza, Suite 114, Pago Pago, AS 96799). This center also contains a collection of Samoan artifacts, corals, and seashells. The nearest hotels to the national park are also located in Pago Pago. Other parts of the park, on the islands of Taū and Ofu, can be visited via commercial inter island air carrier from Pago Pago International Airport. The national park is home to tropical rainforest, tall mountains, beaches, and some of the tallest sea cliffs in the world (3,000 feet (914 m)). It was authorized by the U. S. Congress in 1988 to preserve the paleotropical rain forest, Indo Pacific coral reefs, and Samoan culture. It officially opened in 1993 when a 50 year lease was signed between the U. S. federal government, the government of American Samoa, and local village chiefs (Matai). It is the only U. S. National Park where the U. S. federal government leases the land from local governments instead of being the land owner. It is a park which provides habitat for a variety of tropical wildlife, including coral reef fish, seabirds, flying fruit bats, and numerous other species of animals. Approximately are on Tutuila, and the remainder is on the other islands and the ocean. The park's offshore coral reefs provide habitat for 1,000 species of coral reef and pelagic fishes. The park is home to over 150 species of coral. Notable terrestrial species are the Pacific tree boa and the Flying Megabat, which has a 3 feet (1 m) wingspread.

Pago Pago is vulnerable to natural and man made disasters. Vulnerabilities include heavy storms, flooding, tsunamis, mudslides, and earthquakes. American Samoa has experienced several cyclones and tropical storms, which also increase risks of rock slides and floodings. The capital city is situated at the head of Pago Pago Harbor in a sheltered area that has been described as relatively safe during hurricanes.

Pago Pago Harbor is the port of entry for vessels arriving in American Samoa. Many cruise boats and ships land at Pago Pago Harbor for reprovision reasons, such as to restock on goods and to utilize American trained medical personnel. Pago Pago Harbor is one of the world's largest natural harbors. or one of the best in the world as a whole. Pago Pago is a port of call for South Pacific cruise ships, including Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises. However, cruise ships do not take on passengers in Pago Pago, but typically arrive in the morning and depart in the afternoon. Thirteen cruise ships were scheduled to visit Pago Pago in 2017, bringing 31,000 visitors. Pago Pago Harbor can accommodate two cruise ships at the same time, and has done so on several occasions. Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is located at Tafuna, 8 mile (13 km) southwest of Pago Pago. There are international flights to Samoa 4–7 times daily by Polynesian Airlines: There is only one flight destination from the territory to the United States: Honolulu International Airport, a five hour flight from Pago Pago by Hawaiian Airlines. Of the 88,650 international arrivals in 2001, only 10 percent were tourists. The rest came to visit relatives, for employment reasons, or in transit. Most international visitors are from the independent country of Samoa. Bus and taxi services are based in Fagatogo.

Sixteen remaining structures from the U. S. Naval Station Tutuila Historic District are listed on the U. S. National Register of Historic Places. These include the Government House, Courthouse of American Samoa, Jean P. Haydon Museum, Navy Building 38, and other buildings.