mh ae tat st, oe Pe rae ea ee Ree naldifAloe aceite relatively uniform. Rainfall is heavy and humidity averages 80%. Seasonal changes vary throughout the Territory but most islands have pronounced wet and dry seasons. The islands of the Territory lie in an area of the Western Pacific where major ocean storms both develop and strike. Islands of the Palau, Yap, and Marianas Districts were struck by strong typhoonsin late 1967. In April 1968, the disastrous Typhoon Jean struck the Caroline Islands and developed to full intensity as it passed the Marianas, causing an estimated $16 million in damage. The American Red Cross and the Armed Forces on Guam provided immediate assistance. The President of the United States declared the area a major disaster area and emergency funds wereprovided. Physica! Characteristics The more than 2,000 islands of the Territory range from large volcanic islands to tiny coral islets linking the circular chain of rock and vegetation which forms a coral atoll. Mostislands in the Eastern Carolines and Marshalls are of coral formation. the Remnants of a vast undersea volcanic ridge, stretching southward from Japan along the western perimeter of the Territory, form the Mariana and Western Caroline Islands. The Marianas, exclusive of Guam,are a sizable volcanic archipelago of over 180 square miles of land area—Saipan alone comprising 46 square miles. To the east of this archipelago, the Eastern Carolines and all of the Marshall Islands rest on another series of submarine elevations. The largest islands in the Territory are Babelthuap, Palau District, and Ponape Island, Ponape District. Islands of the Territory range in height from about 6 feet on a coral 2 : ans on atoll to the 3,166 feet of Agrihan Island in the Marianas. Flora Vegetation varies considerably from high island to low atoll, though coconut and breadfruit trees are common to both. Coral atolls are particularly characterized by the coconut palm and its related plant associates—breadfruit, pandanusandplants of a shore nature. The high volcanic islands, on the other hand, usually have mangrove swamps on the tidal flats, coconut vegetation on the slopes, and mixed forest growth on the uplands. Fauna The only presumably native land animals in the Territory are two species of insect-eating bats and two species of fruit bats. These animals are not onall islands but do occur on both high islands and atolls. Dogs, pigs, and one species of rat were introduced by migrating islanders prior to Western and Oriental contact. Three additional species of rats entered the area after Western and Oriental contact. Sometime after World War II, a species of oriental shrew got into the area andis now found in the Marianas, Truk, and the Marshalls. The water buffalo or carabao was introduced to the Marianas from the Philippines by the Spanish and subsequently spread to Ponape and Palau. Horses, cattle, goats and cats were introduced in the postEuropean contact period. Deer were introduced into the Marianas by the Germans and later carried to Ponape. Marine and shore birds abound in the area. These include terns, albatross, booby, tropic birds, golden plovers, frigate birds, shear-waters, several species of herons and a cormorant. One species of rare fresh Part I—Introduction ~*~