This post is part of the #StateChallenge Meetups from Team USA, run by @Denise_Barlock and @jayasimha78 American Samoa is co-hosted by me! @jayasimha78
In this post let us explore few fun facts about American Samoa.
As mentioned in one of the blog posts on www.factretriever.com here are fun facts about American Samoa.
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“The American Samoa airline, Samoa Air, instituted a pay-by-weight system for passengers in 2013. The system requires passengers to stand on a scale with their luggage, with the resultant individual weights determining how much airfare they will pay”
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“The American Samoa island of Tutuila has the largest concentration of fast food restaurants and is the biggest purchaser of fast food in the entire South Pacific”
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“Tuna canneries employ about 80% of the working population of American Samoa. An employee of a tuna cannery makes about $4,300 per year on average. The other 20% are employed by the US government or in agriculture”
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“About 93% of American Samoa’s exports is canned tuna, and 100% of the exports go to the United States”
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“American Samoa has a population of 54,343 for the year 2015. The capital city of Pago Pago on Tutuila island has 48,000 people alone, making up about 88% of the total population”
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“As an unincorporated territory of the United States, American Samoa citizens classify as US Nationals, not US citizens. Most US Nationals consist of citizens of American Samoa”
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“The islands of Samoa formed over millions of years as the result of volcanic activity. The Pacific plate that the Samoa volcano occurs on moves 3 inches per year to the West towards China, which means that in about 1,000,000 years, American Samoa will have moved 50 miles closer to the Asian continent”
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“The National Park of American Samoa is one of the most remote national parks in the United States, with only 5,000 visitors in 2015. In contrast, Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks had over 4 million visitors apiece in 2015.”
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“American Samoa is located 2,300 miles south of Hawaii, making it the most southern point in the United States. Due to its central location near the Equator, American Samoa has earned the nickname, the “heart of Polynesia.””
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“I’a sa, the Samoan name for sea turtle, means “sacred fish.” In Samoan folklore, sea turtles are said to have the power to save fishermen lost at sea by bringing them safely to shore”
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“American Samoa has such a wide diversity of fish, that if you were to dive around the reefs once a week, in theory you could see a new fish species every dive for 18 years”
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“One of the world’s largest corals, a type of boulder coral, resides off the coast of American Samoa’s Ta’u island. The coral is over 15 feet tall and thought to be hundreds of years old.”
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“Bats are the only native species of mammals found in American Samoa. All three of the species found on the island are considered threatened or endangered due to loss of habitat and hunting. Until the 1980s, thousands of bats were shipped out to other countries such as Guam, as they are considered a delicacy in many of the Pacific Islands.”
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“American Samoa’s waters were used as a splash landing for US astronauts during the moon landings in the 60s and 70s. A small American Samoa flag was sent to the moon on one of the missions, and later presented along with three moon rocks to American Samoa by US President Richard Nixon”
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“Weather stations detect rain 300 days out of 365 each year in American Samoa”
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“About 78.3% of the American Samoa islands consist of rainforest. However, due to destruction from cyclones and logging practices, 80% of the rainforest cover in American Samoa has been removed”
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“Samoa means “Sacred Earth” in the Samoan language”
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“American Samoa has strict visitation guidelines, requiring visitors to present a valid passport, a return or onward ticket for leaving the islands, and sufficient funds to support the stay. Visas are required for non-US citizens or nationals, and citizens of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, or the UK automatically receive a 30-day permit to stay in the islands. Any other international visitor is required to apply for an entry visa”
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“About three fourths of the American Samoa population is considered obese, which is the highest rate in the world.”
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“In the early 19th century, Europeans began settling in American Samoa. Most of these settlers consisted of escaped convicts from the Australian continent and sailors who had “jumped ship” from whaling boats”