View source for Samoan Islands

{{short description|Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean}}
{{other uses|Samoa (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox islands
| name             = Samoan Islands
| image_name       = Olosega Aerial AKK.jpg
| image_caption    = Above: [[Ofu-Olosega|Olosega]] island in the [[Manu'a]] group, eastern Samoa Islands. Below: map of the Samoan Islands
| image_size       =
| map_image        = Samoa islands 2002.gif
| native_name      =Motu o Sāmoa
| native_name_link =
| nickname         =
| location         = [[Polynesia]]
| coordinates      =
| archipelago      =
| total_islands    =
| major_islands    =
| area_km2         = 3030
| highest_mount    = [[Mauga Silisili]]
| elevation_m      = 1858
| country          = [[Samoa]]
| country_largest_city              = [[Apia]]
| country_largest_city_population   = 38,800
| country1 = [[United States]]
| country1_admin_divisions_title_1   = [[Territories of the United States|Unincorporated Territory]]
| country1_admin_divisions_1         = [[American Samoa]]
| country1_largest_city             = [[Tafuna, American Samoa|Tafuna]]
| country1_largest_city_population = 9,756
| population       = 249,839
| population_as_of = 2012
| density_km2      =
| ethnic_groups    =
| additional_info  =
}}
The '''Samoan Islands''' ({{langx|sm|Motu o Sāmoa}}) are an [[archipelago]] covering {{convert|3030|km²|0|abbr=on}} in the central [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]], forming part of [[Polynesia]] and of the wider region of [[Oceania]]. [[Political geography|Administratively]], the archipelago comprises all of the [[Samoa|Independent State of Samoa]] and most of [[American Samoa]] (apart from [[Swains Island]], which is geographically part of the [[Tokelau Islands]]). The land masses of the two Samoan jurisdictions are separated by {{Convert|64|km|mi nmi|abbr=on}} of ocean at their closest points.

The population of the Samoan Islands is approximately 250,000.<ref name="culture">{{cite web|url=http://www.polynesia.com/polynesian_culture/samoa/index.html#.VWfU0hDF9Hg|title=Cultures of Polynesia – Polynesian Cultural Center|website=polynesia.com|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> The inhabitants have in common the [[Samoan language]], a culture known as ''[[fa'a Samoa]],'' and an indigenous form of governance called ''[[fa'amatai]]''.<ref name=af>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNDgF7Y9hr4C&dq=Land%20rights%20of%20Pacific%20women%E2%80%8E&pg=PA103|encyclopedia=Land Rights of Pacific Women|title=Western Samoa: the sacred covenant|first=Aiono|last=Fana'afi Le Tagaloa|page=103|year=1986|publisher=Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific|isbn=982-02-0012-1|access-date=17 April 2010}}</ref> [[Samoans]] are one of the largest [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] populations in the world, and most are of exclusively Samoan ancestry.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_EDGapfBX-CAC|quote=Samoans full blooded Polynesian percentage.|title=Moon Handbooks: South Pacific|publisher=David Stanley|first=David|last=Stanley|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_EDGapfBX-CAC/page/n519 500]|year=2004|isbn=1-56691-411-6|access-date=20 June 2010}}</ref>

The oldest known evidence of human activity in the Samoan Islands dates to around 1050 BC. It comes from a [[Lapita]] site at [[Mulifanua]] wharf on [[Upolu]] island.<ref name=green>{{cite journal|url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_98_1989/Volume_98,_No._3/New_information_for_the_Ferry_Berth_site,_Mulifanua,_Western_Samoa,_by_H._M._Leach,_p_319-330/p1?page=0&action=searchresult&target=|title=New Information for the Ferry Berth Site, Mulifanua, Western Samoa by Roger C. Green & Helen M. Leach|journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society|volume=98|issue=3|page=1989|access-date=22 April 2010|archive-date=10 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510004830/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_98_1989/Volume_98%2C_No._3/New_information_for_the_Ferry_Berth_site%2C_Mulifanua%2C_Western_Samoa%2C_by_H._M._Leach%2C_p_319-330/p1?page=0&action=searchresult&target=|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1768, the eastern islands were visited by the French explorer [[Louis Antoine de Bougainville|Bougainville]], who named them the ''Navigator Islands''. That name was used by missionaries until about 1845, and in official European dispatches until about 1870.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-MasOrig-t1-front1-d9.html|last=Masterman|first=Sylvia|title=The Origins of International Rivalry in Samoa: 1845–1884|publisher=George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London|year=1934|pages=14}}</ref>

== Samoa and American Samoa ==
[[File:German, British, American warships in Apia harbour, Samoa 1899.jpg|thumb|German, British and American warships in [[Apia]] harbour, 1899.]]
[[Political geography|Politically]], the Samoan Islands are divided into two jurisdictions:<ref name="culture"/>
* [[Samoa]], an independent nation that gained political independence from [[New Zealand]] in 1962. It comprises the western half of the Samoan Islands, ({{Convert|2831|km2||abbr=on}} and 196,000 inhabitants (2016)). It was known as [[German Samoa]] from 1900 to 1914, and as [[Western Samoa]] until 1997.
**Capital: [[Apia]]; currency: [[Samoan tala]].
* [[American Samoa]], an [[Territories of the United States|unincorporated territory]] of the [[United States]] comprising the eastern half of the Samoan Islands. ({{Convert|199|km2||abbr=on}} and 49,710 inhabitants (2020)).
**Capital: [[Pago Pago]]; currency: [[American dollar|US dollar]].

===Political partition===
In the late 19th century, competition for political control of the islands between the [[United States]], [[German Empire|Germany]], and the [[United Kingdom]] resulted in the December 1899 [[Tripartite Convention]], which formally partitioned the Samoan archipelago into a German colony ([[German Samoa]]) in the western half and a United States territory (American Samoa) in the eastern half.<ref>Ryden, George Herbert. ''The Foreign Policy of the United States in Relation to Samoa''. New York: Octagon Books, 1975. (Reprint by special arrangement with Yale University Press. Originally published at New Haven: Yale University Press, 1928), p. 574. The Tripartite Convention (United States, Germany, Great Britain) was signed at Washington on December 2, 1899, with ratifications exchanged on February 16, 1900.</ref> [[New Zealand]] began occupying the western islands in World War I, while they were still a German colony and continued as an occupying force until 1920. Then, from 1920 until Samoa's independence in 1962, New Zealand governed the islands in that group under a [[League of Nations]] Class C Mandate from 1920 to 1946,<ref>date of ratification by the League of Nations was 10 January 1920; Class C mandates were designed for populations considered incapable of self-government</ref> and as a [[United Nations Trust Territories|United Nations Trust Territory]] from 1946 to 1962. The force that eventually led to the political independence of the western islands in 1962 was the pro-independence [[Mau movement]], which gained popularity across the area. The eastern islands remain a political territory of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/samoa/rise-of-mau|work=NZ History online|title=The rise of the Mau movement|access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref>

==Islands==
{{Main|Geography of Samoa}}
The Samoan Islands has total of 18 islands spread {{Convert|3030|km2|0|abbr=on}} in a west to east direction.<ref name="UNstats">{{cite web|title=Demographic Yearbook—Table 3: Population by sex, rate of population increase, surface area and density|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2009-2010/Table03.pdf|publisher=United Nations Statistics Division|date=2010}}</ref><ref name="encarta_WS"/><ref name="encarta_AS"/>

=== Samoa ===
[[File:Samoa Country map.png|thumb|upright=1.75|Map of Samoa]]
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2022}}
*[[Savai{{okina}}i]]: population 43,819 (2016);<ref name=SBS2016>{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.gov.ws/digi/1-Preliminary%20count%20report%202016.V2.pdf|title=Census 2016 Preliminary count|publisher=Samoa Bureau of Statistics|access-date=6 July 2022}}</ref> largest landmass; westernmost in the group; most recent volcanic eruptions. Eruptions:[[Mt Matavanu]] (1905–1911); [[Mata o le Afi]] (1902); [[Mauga Afi]] (approximately 1725).
*[[Manono Island|Manono]]: population 889 (2006).
*[[Nu{{okina}}ulopa]]: uninhabited; lies in the [[Apolima Strait]] between Upolu and Savai{{okina}}i. 
*[[Apolima]]: population 75 (2006). 
*[[Upolu]]: population 143,418 (2011); the most populous island in the group.
*[[Nu{{okina}}usafe{{okina}}e]]:  uninhabited; tiny rocky islet off the south coast of Upolu, near the village of [[Poutasi]].
*[[Nu{{okina}}utele]]: uninhabited; volcanic tuff ring; conservation for native birds; can also be seen from the popular Lalomanu Beach.
*[[Nu{{okina}}ulua]]: uninhabited; volcanic tuff ring; land area {{Convert|25|ha|}}; conservation habitat for [[Endemism|endemic]] native birds.<ref name="ges">{{cite web|title=issg Database: Distribution Details for Rattus exulans|url=http://www.issg.org/database/species/distribution_detail.asp?si=170&di=35355&pc=*}}</ref>
*[[Namua]]: uninhabited
*[[Fanuatapu]]: uninhabited; volcanic [[tuff ring]].

The islands of Manono, Apolima and Nu{{okina}}ulopa lie in the [[Apolima Strait]] between Upolu and Savai{{okina}}i. The four small, uninhabited islands –  Nu{{okina}}utele, Nu{{okina}}ulua, Namua and Fanuatapu – are situated off the east coast of Upolu and comprise the [[Aleipata Islands]].<ref name="encarta_WS"/>

[[File:US -American Samoa.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of American Samoa]]

=== American Samoa ===
*[[Tutuila]]: population 48,405 (per 2020 census); main island in the territory.
*[[Pola Island]]: unpopulated; part of the [[National Park of American Samoa]].
*[[Aunu'u]]: population 473 (per 2020 census); located southeast of Tutuila.
*[[Swains Island]]: unpopulated (per 2020 census); politically administered by American Samoa, but culturally part of [[Tokelau]]; [[copra]] plantation.
*[[Ofu-Olosega|Ofu‑Olosega]]: volcanic doublet encompassing Ofu (population 132, per 2020 census) and Olosega (population 147, per 2020 census); in the Manu'a Group of islands.
*[[Tau, American Samoa|Ta'ū]]: population 236 (per 2020 census); largest island in the [[Manua|Manu'a Group]]
*[[Rose Atoll|Manu]] (Rose Atoll): unpopulated (per 2020 census); conservation habitat for native birdlife, marine life, [[green turtle]] and endangered [[hawksbill turtle]].
*A number of minor uninhabited islets: [[Cape Taputapu|Taputapu Island]], [[Nuusetoga Island]] (Bartlett Island), [[Nuʻutele Island]], [[Nuusilaelae Island]], [[Aʻumi, American Samoa|Pyramid Rock]] (Fatutoʻaga), [[Fatu Rock]] (Flowerpot Rock), [[ʻAmanave, American Samoa|Utusiva]], [[Avaio, American Samoa|Avaio]], and [[Ofu-Olosega|Nu’upule Rock]].<ref>Whistler, W. Arthur (April 1980): “The Vegetation of Eastern Samoa”. Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden. Pages 88-89. Retrieved on November 30, 2024, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349619846_The_Vegetation_of_Eastern_Samoa</ref><ref>2020 Census Privacy-Protected Microdata File (PPMF), prepared by the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], Washington, DC, August 2024. Page A-22. Retrieved on December 3, 2024, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/privacy-protected-microdata-file/2020census-privacy-protected-microdata-file.pdf</ref>

==Location==
[[File:A Manaia, son of a Samoan matai photo Andrew.Thomas.jpg|thumb|upright|Young man dressed as a ''manaia'', the son of a Samoan chief ([[fa'amatai|''matai'']]), {{Circa|1890}}–1910. (photo by [[Thomas Andrew (photographer)|Thomas Andrew]])]]
The islands are approximately {{convert|800|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Fiji]], {{convert|530|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Tonga]], {{convert|2900|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[New Zealand]], and {{convert|4000|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Hawaii]], U.S.<ref name="encarta_WS">{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Robert|first=Kiste|title=Samoa: Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003|publisher=Microsoft Corporation|place=Redmond, WA|date=1993–2002|id=60210-442-1635445-74407}}</ref>

The islands lie between 13° and 14° south latitude and 169° and 173° west longitude, and span an area of about {{convert|480|km|mi|abbr=on}} from west to east.<ref name="encarta_WS"/>

The larger islands are [[volcanic]] in origin, mountainous, and covered in tropical moist forest. Some of the smaller islands are [[coral atoll]]s with black sand beaches.<ref name="DOI">{{cite web|url=http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/asgpage.htm|title=Insular Area Summary for American Samoa|access-date=April 11, 2011|date=April 6, 2010|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009111944/http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/asgpage.htm|archive-date=October 9, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Background: Volcanic Islands and Seamounts in the Samoan Region|url=https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1702/background/geology/welcome.html|website=NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research|access-date=3 July 2022}}</ref>

==Highest points==
The highest point in Samoa is Mt. [[Silisili]], on the island of [[Savai'i]]. At {{Convert|1858|m||abbr=on}}, it is also one of the highest peaks in Polynesia.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pratt|first=H. Douglas|title=The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|year=1987|isbn=0-691-02399-9|pages=16–18|display-authors=etal}}</ref> The highest peak in American Samoa is on [[Tau, American Samoa|Ta’u]], [[Lata Mountain]], at {{convert|966|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Sunia-2009">Sunia, Fofo I.F. (2009). ''A History of American Samoa''. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. {{ISBN|978-1573062992}}.</ref>{{rp|3}}

==Landmass==
[[Upolu]] and [[Savai'i]] in Samoa are among the largest of the Polynesian islands, at {{convert|1718|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and {{convert|1125|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, respectively,<ref name = "Craig">{{cite web|editor-first=P.|editor-last=Craig|title=Natural History Guide to American Samoa|url=http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/basch/uhnpscesu/pdfs/NatHistGuideAS09op.pdf|publisher=National Park of American Samoa, Department Marine and Wildlife Resources, American Samoa Community College|access-date=16 August 2009}}</ref> Their size is exceeded only by the two substantially larger main islands of New Zealand [[Te Waipounamu]] and [[Te Ika-a-Māui]] as well as [[Stewart Island / Rakiura|Rakiura]], and the two main islands of Fiji and the Hawaiian islands of [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaiʻi]] and [[Maui]].<ref name="encarta_WS"/> The island of Upolu has more inhabitants than the island of Savai'i does.<ref name="UNstats"/>

The next largest island is [[Tutuila]], where the city and harbor of [[Pago Pago]] (with a population of 3,519 in 1990) is located. Tutuila is much smaller than Upolu and Savai‘i, at {{convert|136.2|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in area, but it is the largest island in American Samoa.<ref name="encarta_AS"/> The highest point on Tutuila is Matafao Peak.<ref>{{cite web|title=Matafao Peak, AS|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/site.htm?Site=MAPE-AS|website=National Park Service|access-date=3 July 2022}}</ref>

Smaller islands in the archipelago include the three islets ([[Manono Island]], [[Apolima]] and [[Nu'ulopa]]) located in the [[Apolima Strait]] between Savai'i and Upolu; the four [[Aleipata Islands]] off the eastern end of [[Upolu]] ([[Nu'utele]], [[Nu'ulua]], [[Namua]], and [[Fanuatapu]]); and Nu‘usafe‘e.<ref>{{cite news|title=Samoa an Overview|url=http://www.donbosco.asn.au/Bulletins/2004/mar/overview.htm|work=donbosco.asn.au|access-date=2007-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120020749/http://www.donbosco.asn.au/Bulletins/2004/mar/overview.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=2007-11-20}}</ref> [[Aunu'u]] is a small island off the eastern end of Tutuila.  To the east of Tutuila, the [[Manu'a]] group comprises [[Ofu-Olosega|Ofu, Olosega]], and [[Tau, American Samoa|Ta’u]]. An uninhabited coral atoll, [[Rose Atoll]], is the southernmost point in the territory of the United States.  Another coral atoll, [[Swains Island]], is within the territory of American Samoa but is geographically distant from the Samoan archipelago.<ref name="encarta_AS">{{Cite encyclopedia|title=American Samoa, World Atlas: Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003|publisher=Microsoft Corporation|place=Redmond, WA|date=1993–2002|id=60210-442-1635445-74407}}</ref>

== Time zone ==
{{see also|Time in Samoa|Samoa Time Zone}}
In 1892, the Samoan islands shifted to the eastern side of the [[International Date Line]].  The ruler [[Malietoa Laupepa]] issued a proclamation that Monday, July 4 would occur twice, giving an extra day in July 1892.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1892-07-20|title=Going Back 24 Hours.|work=[[The Evening News (Sydney)|Evening News]]|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112593710|access-date=2022-07-03|via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref>  This change, which occurred on the [[American Independence Day]], was likely due to increasing trade with Americans.  The islands would be on the same day as the United States.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Mydans|first=Seth|date=2011-12-29|title=Samoa Sacrifices a Day for Its Future|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/world/asia/samoa-to-skip-friday-and-switch-time-zones.html|access-date=2022-07-03|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

By 2011, the government of independent Samoa decided to shift back to the western side in order to have the same day as Australia and New Zealand.  Being one day behind these countries, Samoa's primary trading partners, left only four business days in a week.  The shift was implemented by skipping Friday, December 30; workers were paid for this "missed" day.  Neighboring [[Tokelau]] shifted as well on this day.<ref name=":0" />

==Geology==
[[File:Hotspot(geology)-1.svg|upright|thumb|Diagram showing how islands are formed by [[Hotspot (geology)|hotspots]]]]

The [[vulcanology|volcanic]] Samoa island chain may have been formed by the activity of the [[Samoa hotspot]] at the eastern end of the Samoa Islands. In theory, that hotspot was created by the movement of the [[Pacific Plate|Pacific tectonic plate]] over a 'fixed' deep and narrow [[mantle plume]] spewing up through the Earth's crust. One piece of evidence that this activity may have created the islands is that they generally lie in a straight east-to-west line, and the plate is moving from east to west. However, some characteristics of the Samoa islands are inconsistent with this theory. The classic hotspot model (based mostly on studies of the [[Hawaii hotspot]]) predicts that, if plate movement over a hotspot is what created a volcanic island chain, then the farther away from the hotspot the islands and [[seamount]]s in the chain are, the older they will prove to be. Some of the evidence is inconsistent with this explanation for the creation of the Samoa island chain, creating an enigma for scientists. For one thing, [[Savai'i]], the most western of the Samoa island chain, and [[Tau, American Samoa|Ta'u Island]], the most eastern, both erupted in the last century.<ref name=wh>{{cite web|url=http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=12464&tid=282&cid=2541|work=Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution|title=Voyage to Vailulu'u|first=Laurence|last=Lippsett|date=3 September 2009|access-date=19 April 2010}}</ref> For another thing, the [[subaerial]] rock samples initially collected from Savai'i, the westernmost of the islands, are too young by several million years to fit the classic hotspot model of age progression in an island chain. These facts led some scientists to suggest that the Samoa islands were not formed by the hotspot plume. One possible explanation for the inconsistency of the data with the hotspot formation theory is the fact that the island chain lies just north of the [[Tonga Trench]]. An alternative theory is that the islands were formed by [[magma]] seeping through cracks in stressed [[fracture zone|fracture zones.]] However, in 2005, an international team found new evidence that supports the hotspot model. They gathered additional samples from Savai'i – submarine samples from the deep flanks and [[rift]]s of the island. Tests found that these samples are much older than the previously collected samples: They are about five million years old, an age that fits the hotspot model.<ref>{{cite journal|bibcode=2006AGUFM.V34B..02K|title=New 40Ar/39Ar Ages for Savai'i Island Reinstate Samoa as a Hotspot Trail with a Linear Age Progression|journal=AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts|volume=2006|pages=V34B–02|last1=Koppers|first1=A. A.|last2=Russell|first2=J. A.|last3=Staudigel|first3=H.|last4=Hart|first4=S. R.|year=2006}}</ref>

===2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami===
[[File:Kermadec Arc.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tonga Trench]] south of the Samoa Islands and north of [[New Zealand]].]]

The [[2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami]] killed more than 170 people in the Samoa Islands and [[Tonga]]. The M8.1 [[submarine earthquake]] took place in the region at 06:48:11 local time on September 29, 2009 (17:48:11 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]], September 29), followed by smaller aftershocks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009mdbi.php|title=Magnitude 8.1 – SAMOA ISLANDS REGION|date=2009-09-29|publisher=earthquake.usgs.gov|access-date=22 April 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007165801/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009mdbi.php|archive-date=7 October 2009}}</ref> It was the [[List of 21st-century earthquakes#2009|largest]] earthquake of 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC)|url=http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2009/2009_deaths.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319150923/http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2009/2009_deaths.html|archive-date=2012-03-19|access-date=2015-10-01|publisher=Neic.usgs.gov}}</ref>

===Vailulu'u Seamount===
The [[Vailulu'u|Vailulu'u Seamount]], an active submerged volcano, lies {{Convert|45|km||abbr=on}} east of Ta'u in
[[American Samoa]]. It was discovered in 1975 and has since been studied by an international team of scientists, contributing towards understanding of the Earth's fundamental processes.<ref name=hart>{{cite journal|url=http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/djl/samoa/vailuluu.pdf|journal=Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems|volume=1|issue=12|page=1056{{hyphen}}13|bibcode=2000GGG.....1.1056H|doi=10.1029/2000GC000108|title=Vailulu'u undersea volcano: The New Samoa|year=2000|last1=Hart|first1=S. R.|last2=Staudigel|first2=H.|last3=Koppers|first3=A. A. P.|last4=Blusztajn|first4=J.|last5=Baker|first5=E. T.|last6=Workman|first6=R.|last7=Jackson|first7=M.|last8=Hauri|first8=E.|last9=Kurz|first9=M.|last10=Sims|first10=K.|last11=Fornari|first11=D.|last12=Saal|first12=A.|last13=Lyons|first13=S.|doi-access=free}}</ref> Growing inside the summit crater of Vailulu'u is an active underwater [[volcanic cone]], named after Samoa's goddess of war, [[Nafanua]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Staudigel|first1=Hubert|last2=Hart|first2=Stanley R.|last3=Pile|first3=Adele|last4=Bailey|first4=Bradley E.|last5=Baker|first5=Edward T.|last6=Brooke|first6=Sandra|last7=Connelly|first7=Douglas P.|last8=Haucke|first8=Lisa|last9=German|first9=Christopher R. |last10=Hudson |first10=Ian|last11=Jones|first11=Daniel|date=2006-04-25|title=Vailulu'u Seamount, Samoa: Life and death on an active submarine volcano|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=103|issue=17|pages=6448–6453|doi=10.1073/pnas.0600830103|issn=0027-8424|pmc=1458904|pmid=16614067|bibcode=2006PNAS..103.6448S|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Climate==
The Samoan climate is tropical, with a rainy season from November to April. The island group is frequently hit by [[tropical cyclone]]s between December and March, due to its position in the South Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Samoa: Climate|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-54101/Samoa|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2007-11-26}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="220px" heights="200px" caption="Samoa Islands">
File:Volcano eruption Mt Matavanu - Savai'i - 1905 - photo by Thomas Andrew.jpg|[[Mt Matavanu]] volcanic eruption on [[Savai'i]] island, 1905
File:Afono Village NPS.jpg|[[Afono, American Samoa|Afono]] village, [[Tutuila]] island, American Samoa.
File:Aunu'u Island National National Landmark.jpg|[[Aunu'u]] island, offshore of the island of Tutuila, American Samoa
File:1farleftpalms.jpg|A beach on [[Ofu-Olosega]], a volcanic doublet in the Manu'a Group of islands.
File:Fuipisia waterfall - Samoa.jpg|Fuipisia waterfall in [[Lotofaga]], Upolu island.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|Islands|Oceania}}
*[[Archaeology of Samoa]]
*[[Architecture of Samoa]]
*''[[Coming of Age in Samoa]]''
*[[Culture of Samoa]]
*[[Samoan Civil War|First Samoan Civil War]]
*[[Samoan unification]]
*[[Second Samoan Civil War]]
*[[Siege of Apia]]
*[[Tokelauan language]] (belongs to the group of Samoic languages, and is derived from Samoan)
*[[Tuvaluan language]] (belongs to the group of Samoic languages, and is closely related to Samoan)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.samoa.travel Samoa.travel: Samoa Tourism Authority website]
* {{Cite AmCyc|first=John Denison Jr.|last=Champlin|author-link=John Denison Champlin Jr.|wstitle=Samoan Islands|short=x}}
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Navigators' Islands |volume= XVII | page= |short=1}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Samoa Islands}}
{{Islands of Samoa}}
{{Samoa topics}}
{{American Samoa}}
{{Polynesia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|14|16|S|171|12|W|type:country_source:dewiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Samoan Islands| ]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of Oceania]]
[[Category:Geography of Polynesia]]
[[Category:Eastern Indo-Pacific]]
[[Category:Marine ecoregions]]