Agrihan
NASA Space Shuttle image of Agrihan island
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 18°46′42″N 145°40′17″E / 18.77833°N 145.67139°E |
| Archipelago | Northern Mariana Islands |
| Area | 43.51 km2 (16.80 sq mi) |
| Length | 9 km (5.6 mi) |
| Width | 6 km (3.7 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 965 m (3,166 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Agrigan |
| Administration | |
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United States
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| Commonwealth | Northern Mariana Islands |
| Demographics | |
| Population | - uninhabited - (2010) |
Agrihan (also spelled Agrigan) is an island in the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The island is currently uninhabited. Agrihan is located 62 kilometers (39 mi) to the north of Pagan.
Agrihan is a densely forested island, roughly elliptical in shape, with a length of 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) and a width of 6 km (3.7 mi) and an area of 44 km2 (17 sq mi). The entire island is a massive stratovolcano which rises over 4,000 meters (13,120 ft) from the ocean floor, and is the fifth largest in the Marianas volcanic arc. At 965 m (3,166 ft), its summit is the highest point in Micronesia. The volcano is topped by a large caldera, 1 x 2 km (0.6 x 1.2 mi) in size and about 500 m (1,640 ft) deep. The caldera floor has several lava flows and two volcanic cones, which were probably created during the April 1917 eruption. The only relatively flat land on the island is along the southeast shoreline and on the north side of the central caldera.
Vegetation includes Swordgrass (Miscanthus floridulus) grasslands on the upper slopes, forests of Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), with some Breadfruit () and Papaya (Carica papaya) on the lower slopes and within the deep ravines that descend radially from the summit.
From a European perspective Agrihan was discovered on June 11, 1522 by Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa and named "Cyco" or "La Griega" (The Greek in Spanish). Espinosa was on the Trinidad as part of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, and called on the island while attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean to Mexico. The resident Chamorros were hostile and he could not anchor, but kidnapped an islander for information. The Spanish missionary Diego Luis de San Vitores visited Agrihan in 1669 calling it "San Francisco Javier". In 1695, the natives were forcibly removed to Saipan, and three years later to Guam.
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Wikipedia