The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
U.S. AROUND THE WORLD
Recently the North Korean government has made threats to attack the U.S. territory of Guam. The U.S. has 16 territories in areas of the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean, and Guam is the second-most populated. People living in U.S. territories are citizens of the U.S. and receive defense and economic support. They have territorial resident commissioners or delegates who can serve on congressional committees but are not allowed to vote on final disposition of legislation. People of the commonwealths and territories cannot vote in the general elections, but they can vote in the primaries.
The five populated territories
1. Guam, in the western Pacific Ocean, has an established civil government. Guam has a population of 161,785, and the island has an area of 210 square miles. It is the largest of the Mariana Islands. Guam is a popular destination for tourists, especially from Japan. The U.S. took charge of the island in 1898, but Guam was not granted U.S. citizenship until 1950. 2. Puerto Rico is the most populated U.S. territory with 3.7 million people. Puerto Ricans were first granted U.S. citizenship in 1917. The island of Puerto Rico is 3,420 square miles, and the commonwealth includes approximately 2,000 more square miles of water. 3. The Northern Mariana Islands make up a U.S. commonwealth consisting of 15 islands, including those of the Marianas Archipelagos, and cover about 183.5 square miles. The Northern Mariana Islands have a population of 77,000 people, with the vast majority in Saipan and Tinian. Territorial status was approved in 1975 through a referendum. 4. The U.S. Virgin Islands cover 133.73 square miles and have a population of 106,105 people. The islands are part of the U.S. territories, but the citizens of the island are not eligible to vote in the U.S. presidential elections. 5. American Samoa consists of five mainland and coral atolls in the South Pacific. It is the southernmost territory in the U.S. and one of two territories below the equator. It has a population of 55,500 people and covers 76.8 square miles.
The unpopulated territories
6. Wake Island was annexed as empty territory by the U.S. in 1899. 7. Navassa Island is uninhabited and is between Jamaica and Haiti. 8. Midway Islands is an atoll covering 2.4 square miles. 9. Kingman Reef came under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy in 1934. 10. Johnston Atoll was under the control of the American military for 70 years and was used for nuclear weapons testing. 11. Jarvis Island is the other of the two U.S. territories south of the equator. 12. Howland Island is halfway between Hawaii and Australia. 13. Baker Island was claimed by the U.S. in 1857 under the Guano Islands Act. 14. Palmyra Atoll is south of the Hawaiian Islands.
Disputed territories
Territories the U.S. claims but other nations do as well. 15. Bajo Nuevo Bank, claimed by Colombia, Jamaica, Nicaragua 16. Serranilla Bank, claimed by Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua