Background:
Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European
explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter
half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which
Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally
occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the
excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year.
Geography American Samoa
Location:
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half
way between Hawaii and New Zealand
Geographic coordinates:
14 20 S, 170 00 W
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
116 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm