Unit 2: Research into 'Pagan' (Pagan Island)

Various searches that derive from the word 'Pagan' include:

1. Pagan Island
2. Paganism
3. Pagan Kingdom 

Pagan Island

 ‘Pagan is part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, an island chain of volcanoes that form the margin between the Pacific Ocean (to the East) and the Philippine Sea (to the West). Pagan is made up of two stratovolcanoes separated by an isthmus; it is one of the more volcanically active islands in the Marianas. The island was completely evacuated in 1981 when a large eruption forced the small Micronesian community to flee. Before the early month of 2012, the most eruption occurred in 2010.’ 

Figure 1

Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas 

The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands(CNMI), is one of the two insular area Commonwealths of the United States of America, the other being Puerto Rico. Both can also be classified as unincorporated, organisedterritories of the United States.

Occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way fromHawaii to the Philippines. The United States Census Bureaureports the total land area of all islands as 179.01 square miles (463.63 km²).

Figure 2

Stratovolcanoes 

'Stratovolcanoes, also known as composite cones, are the most picturesque and the most deadly of the volcano types. Their lower slopes are gentle, but they rise steeply near the summit to produce an overall morphology that is concave in an upward direction. The summit area typically contains a surprisingly small summit crater. This classic stratovolcano shape is exemplified by many well-known stratovolcanoes, such as Mt. Fuji in Japan, Mt. Mayon in the Philippines, and Mt. Agua in Guatemala.'

Figure 3

Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas, usually with water on either side.



Bibliography

Pagan Island information taken from: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77503

Stratovolcanoes information taken from: http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/stratovolc_page.html

Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas information taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Mariana_Islands

Isthmus information taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_isthmuses

Images

Figure 1 - http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/77000/77503/ISS030_E_122047.jpg

Figure 2 - http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/willow/geography-of-northern-marianas0.gif 

Figure 3 - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/FujiSunriseKawaguchiko2025WP.jpg/280px-FujiSunriseKawaguchiko2025WP.jpg