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National Park of American Samoa Facts

National Park of American Samoa Facts
The National Park of American Samoa is a 13,500 acre park in the Territory of the American Samoa in the United States. When the national park was established in 1988 the National Parks Service was unable to purchase the land and five years later entered into a lease agreement for 50 years within the communal land system of the Samoans. The National Park of the American Samoa consists of 4,500 acres of ocean and coral reefs and 9,000 acres of land including rainforests, distributed across the Islands Ofu, Tutuila, and Ta'ū. American Samoa's islands are shield volcano islands built by lava flows, some dating as far back as 1.4 million years. The coral reefs of American Samoa are threatened by several factors and may be gone by the mid-2000s.
Interesting National Park of American Samoa Facts:
The word 'Samoa' means 'sacred earth' when translated to English.
The National Park of the American Samoa is the only United States national park located on the south side of the equator.
The Samoan people that live in American Samoa have traditions, customs, and belief systems dating back 3000 years.
The island Tutuila in the National Park of American Samoa is located at the park's north end. This portion of the park is the only one that is reachable by car. Visitors to Tutuila can hike to Mount Lava's top.
Tutuila has two World War II historic sites including Blunt's Point and Breaker's Point. These were gun emplacement locations during the war.
Ta'ū island is reachable by airplane and visitors to this island can climb the 3,170 foot staircase to the top of Lata Mountain from the southern coastline at Si'u Point.
Ofu island is reachable aboard small fisherman's boats that leave from Ta'ū island.
The only mammals native to the National Park of American Samoa are three bat species including the white-naped flying fox, Samoa flying fox, and the Pacific sheath-tailed bat.
Reptiles native to the National Park of American Samoa include seven skin species, Pacific boa, stump-toed gecko, mourning gecko, pelagic gecko, and the Polynesian gecko.
The park is trying to control the feral pigs in the park which threaten the ecosystem of American Samoa. The park is also trying to eradicate invasive plant species that threaten the park's natural ecosystem.
Birds that can be found at the National Park of American Samoa include the Pacific pigeon, the wattled honeyeater, the Samoan starling, the Tahiti petrel, the multi-colored fruit dove, and the spotless crane.
The majority of the land of the National Park of American Samoa is made up of tropical rainforest.
30% of the plants found in the National Park of American Samoa are endemic (found only in this region) species. There are 135 fern species and 343 known flowering plant species found in the park.
The water surrounding the island of the National Park of American Samoa is populated with more than 250 coral species, 950 fish species, and a variety of other marine life that includes sea turtles and whales.
Visitors to the National Park of American Samoa can even find secluded Samoan villages in the park's rainforests.


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