| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| |||||
| National motto: ? | |||||
| Official languages | English, Chamorro, Carolinian | ||||
| CapitalThis article concerns places that serve as centers of government and politics. For alternative meanings see capital (disambiguation In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meanin | Saipan | ||||
| Chief of state | George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. His first four-year term as President began on January 20, 2001 following the controversial U. presidential election, 2000, where for the first time in American | ||||
| Governor | Juan N. BabautaJuan Nekai Babauta (born September 7 1953, Tapanag, Saipan) is current governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. Babauta, Juan N. Northern Mariana Islands. | ||||
| Resident Representative | Pedro Agulto Tenorio | ||||
| AreaThis article explains the meaning of area as a Physical quantity. Article area (geometry) is more mathematical. Area is a quantity expressing the size of a region of space. Surface area refers to the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an objec - Total - % water | Ranked 230thHere is a list of the countries of the world in order of size . Values are given using SI (metric) units. Dependencies are shown with the main country; the total area is also given, but the list is ordered according to the areas excluding dependencies. 477 km˛Square kilometre (symbol km is an SI unit of surface area. It is one of the SI derived units. 1 km˛ is equal to: the area of a square measuring 1 kilometre on each side 1 000 000 m˛ 100 hectares 0. 386 102 square miles (statute) 247. 105 381 acres Convers Negl. | ||||
| Population - Total ( 2003) - Density | Ranked N/A 80,006 (July 2003 est.) 168/km˛ | ||||
| Independence | none (in political union with the USA) | ||||
| Currency | US dollar (USD) | ||||
| Time zone | UTC+10 | ||||
| National anthem | ? | ||||
| Internet TLD | .mp | ||||
| Calling Code | +1 670 | ||||
The islands have a tropical marine climate moderated by northeast trade winds. There is little seasonal temperature variation; the dry season runs from December to June, the rainy season from July to October can include typhoons. The southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; the northern islands are volcanic, with active volcanoes on Anatahan, Pagan and Agrihan . (The volcano on Agrihan is the highest elevation in the islands at 965 meters (3,165 feet)). About one-fifth of the land is arable, another tenth is permanent pasture. The primary natural resource is fish, which causes conflict with the protection of endangered species. Past development has created landfills that must be cleaned up and has caused contamination of groundwater on Saipan, which may contribute to disease.
The islands were administered by the United States as part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; thus, defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the US. The people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978.
The islands have over 350 kilometers of highways, three airports with paved runways (one some 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) long, two around 2,000 (6560 feet) meters), three airports with unpaved runways (one about 3,000 meters long, two under 1,000 (3280 feet) meters), and one heliport.
Anatahan Volcano is a small volcanic island located 120 km (80 miles) north of Saipan Island and 320 km (200 miles) north of Guam. The island is about 9 km (5.6 miles) long and 3 km (2 miles) wide. Anatahan began erupting suddenly from its east crater at about 5:00 p.m. on May 10, 2003.
On September 23, 2004 Congressman Richard Pombo of California introduced H. R. 5135 - the Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act. The bill, if it becomes law, would allow CNMI to elect a nonvoting delegate to the U.S. Congress starting with the 2006 election .
See: Governors of Northern Mariana Islands
From the CIA World Factbook 2000. Not Wikified.