Guam is the largest of the Mariana islands. It has a total area of 541 km2. The climate is tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by north- east trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation. The terrain is volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coraline limestoneplateau (source of most fresh water) with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in centre, mountains in south. Natural resources are fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan). The religion is 98% Roman Catholic, 2% other. The language is English and Chamorro, most residents bilingual; Japanese also widely spoken. Research Guam
Abbreviations
Gazetteer
Research Guam