LOCATION: Saipan is the capital of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). It is a beautiful tropical island with white sand beaches, a turquoise lagoon, and a fringing reef on its western shore. Rapidly developing and ethnically diverse, Saipan is located in the Western Pacific, 15 degrees north of the equator.  It is south of Japan, east of the Philippines, north of Papua New Guinea, and a long, long way west of Hawai'i. Saipan is part of a string of 14 islands, most of which are uninhabited. Saipan is approximately 14 miles long and 4 miles wide. By the standards of Micronesia, it is a sizeable island. However, the visitor to Saipan can stand on the ridge that runs down the island's center and look out at the endless expanses of the Pacific Ocean and the Philippine Sea. To the south lie Tinian and Rota.

Picture courtesy of Trust Territory Archives, Pacific Collection,
Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii