Northern Mariana Islands

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas
Anthem: Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi  (Chamorro) Satil Matawal Pacifiko  (Carolinian)
Capital		Capital Hill 15°14′N 145°45′E
Official language(s)		English, Chamorro, Carolinian
Government		Presidential representative democracy
-	President	Barack Obama
-	Governor	Benigno R. Fitial
-	Lt. Governor	Eloy S. Inos
-	Delegate to U.S. Congress	Gregorio Sablan
Commonwealth		in union with United States
-	Covenant	1975
-	Commonwealth status	1978
-	end of trusteeship	1986
Area
-	Total	463.63 km2 (195th) 179.01 sq mi
-	Water (%)	negligible
Population
-	2007 estimate	77,000 (198th)
-	2010 census	53,883
-	Density	168/km2 (n/a) 63.8/sq mi
Currency		United States dollar (USD)
Time zone		(UTC+10)
Internet TLD		.mp
Calling code		+1-670

Location of the Northern Mariana Islands

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean that are a political division controlled by the United States. Its capital is Saipan.

Geography

The Northern Mariana Islands, together with Guam to the south, compose the Mariana Islands. The southern islands are limestone, with level terraces and fringing coral reefs. The northern islands are volcanic, with active volcanos on Anatahan, Pagan and Agrihan. The volcano on Agrihan has the highest elevation at 3,166 feet (965 m). Anatahan Volcano is a small volcanic island 80 miles (130 km) north of Saipan. It is about 6 miles (10 km) long and 2 miles (3 km) wide. Anatahan began erupting suddenly from its east crater on May 10, 2003, at about 6 p.m. (0800 UTC). It has since alternated between eruptive and calm periods. On April 6, 2005, approximately 1,800,000 cubic feet (50,970 m³) of ash and rock were ejected, causing a large, black cloud to drift south over Saipan and Tinian.

Other websites

• Northern Mariana Islands official government website
• The CNMI Covenant
• The CNMI Constitution
• CNMI Office of Resident Representative Pedro A. Tenorio
• H.R. 873 - the Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act
• H.R. 5550 - The United States-Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Human Dignity Act
• U.S. Census Bureau: Island Areas Census 2000
• CIA World Factbook information about Northern Mariana Islands
• Northern Mariana Islands at the Open Directory Project
• Wikimedia Atlas of Northern Mariana Islands
• Northern Mariana Islands travel guide from Wikivoyage