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153-412: Tutuila has mountainous regions, the highest point of which is 653 meters (2,142 feet). The island is attractive to tourists because of its beaches, coral reefs , and World War II relics, as well as its suitability for sporting activities such as scuba diving , snorkeling , and hiking. It is said that the name Tutuila may have been given to the island by a woman named Salaia. She named the island after

306-749: A Darwin Point is reached. One such point exists at the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Archipelago; see Evolution of Hawaiian volcanoes#Coral atoll stage . However, reefs in the Persian Gulf have adapted to temperatures of 13 °C (55 °F) in winter and 38 °C (100 °F) in summer. 37 species of scleractinian corals inhabit such an environment around Larak Island . Deep-water coral inhabits greater depths and colder temperatures at much higher latitudes, as far north as Norway. Although deep water corals can form reefs, little

459-533: A 13-year-old African American girl. In 1795, the number of stars and stripes was increased from 13 to 15 (to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as states of the Union). For a time the flag was not changed when subsequent states were admitted, probably because it was thought that this would cause too much clutter. It was the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort M'Henry", later known as " The Star-Spangled Banner ", which

612-761: A Standard" and asked for his "Ideas of the Plan of the Standard," adding that the War Board preferred a design they viewed as "a variant for the Marine Flag." Washington agreed that he preferred "the standard, with the Union and Emblems in the center." The drafts are lost to history but are likely to be similar to the first Jack of the United States . The origin of the stars and stripes design has been muddled by

765-583: A U.S. flag and Moon rocks to Mao Zedong during his visit to China in 1972. They are now on display at the National Museum of China . The U.S. flag took its first trip around the world in 1787–1790 on board the Columbia . William Driver , who coined the phrase "Old Glory", took the U.S. flag around the world in 1831–32. The flag attracted the notice of the Japanese when an oversized version

918-663: A claim during his own life when he sent a letter and several bills to Congress for his work. These claims are documented in the Journals of the Continental Congress and George Hasting's biography of Hopkinson. Hopkinson initially wrote a letter to Congress, via the Continental Board of Admiralty, on May 25, 1780. In this letter, he asked for a "Quarter Cask of the Public Wine" as payment for designing

1071-483: A combination of the names of her parents: Tutu and Ila. Another name for the island is based on the name of Salaia herself: 'o le motu o Salaia ("the island of Salaia") or motu sā (literally, "the sacred island"). In June 1722, the Samoan Islands were first encountered by a European explorer, Jacob Roggeveen , who gave Tutuila the name Thienhoven Island . A popular island legend holds that, when called to in

1224-536: A conference in Berlin to discuss the political future of the islands and try to resolve their differences on that topic. The Americans expressed dissatisfaction with not having complete control of the islands. The countries' ongoing differences led to a proposal, in 1899, to apportion their control among different parts of the Samoan islands, with the eastern islands, including Tutuila and Aunu'u, forming American Samoa, and

1377-644: A continental shelf, and not around a volcanic island, Darwin's principles apply. Development stopped at the barrier reef stage, since Australia is not about to submerge. It formed the world's largest barrier reef, 300–1,000 m (980–3,280 ft) from shore, stretching for 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Healthy tropical coral reefs grow horizontally from 1 to 3 cm (0.39 to 1.18 in) per year, and grow vertically anywhere from 1 to 25 cm (0.39 to 9.84 in) per year; however, they grow only at depths shallower than 150 m (490 ft) because of their need for sunlight, and cannot grow above sea level. As

1530-709: A cross fire. Concrete bunkers used during WWII are also seen at Pago Pago. Notable buildings in Fagatogo are the Governor's Mansion (1903), Sadie's Restaurant where Somerset Maugham stayed in 1916 and wrote the short story "Rain" about former prostitute Sadie Thompson (that takes place in American Samoa), the Fono Building which is the state legislative building, the Jean P. Haydon Museum built in 1917, which

1683-413: A flag act specified an official arrangement of the stars in the canton, namely six rows of eight stars each, where each star would point upward. The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, however, had already been using standardized designs. Throughout the 19th century, different star patterns, both rectangular and circular, had been abundant in civilian use. In 1960, the current 50-star flag was adopted, incorporating

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1836-567: A flag as of the supposed visit in June 1776. Furthermore, her grandson admitted that his own search through the Journals of Congress and other official records failed to find corroborating evidence for his grandmother's story. George Henry Preble states in his 1882 text that no combined stars and stripes flag was in common use prior to June 1777, and that no one knows who designed the 1777 flag. Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich argues that there

1989-499: A length of 6.5 km (4.0 mi), goes through a very steep slope behind the rest fale (hurricane shelter), which is also negotiated through a stairway and further leads down to the serene Vatia village on the coral bay. Hurricanes or tropical cyclones have been frequently striking the Samoan Island for centuries. To monitor and give advance warning of the cyclones, several Observation stations have been established under

2142-575: A painting by John Trumbull . Despite the 1777 resolution, the early years of American independence featured many different, hand-crafted flags. As late as 1779, Captain John Manley believed that the United States "had no national colors" so each ship flew whatever flag pleased the captain. Some of the early flags included blue stripes as well as red and white. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams , in an October 3, 1778, letter to Ferdinand I of

2295-400: A particular way, a shark and a turtle will appear near the shore. According to the legend, a long time ago, an old blind woman and her granddaughter, both suffering the pangs of starvation , jumped off a cliff in the village of Vaitogi and into the roiling ocean below. But instead of drowning, the old woman was transformed into a shark, and her granddaughter was transformed into a turtle. When

2448-412: A pinhead to 12 inches (30 cm) across. Reef-building or hermatypic corals live only in the photic zone (above 70 m), the depth to which sufficient sunlight penetrates the water. Coral polyps do not photosynthesize, but have a symbiotic relationship with microscopic algae ( dinoflagellates ) of the genus Symbiodinium , commonly referred to as zooxanthellae . These organisms live within

2601-496: A pseudo-atoll. These can be distinguished from real atolls only by detailed investigation, possibly including core drilling. Some platform reefs of the Laccadives are U-shaped, due to wind and water flow. Atolls or atoll reefs are a more or less circular or continuous barrier reef that extends all the way around a lagoon without a central island. They are usually formed from fringing reefs around volcanic islands. Over time,

2754-433: A rapidly subsiding bottom can overwhelm coral growth, killing the coral and the reef, due to what is called coral drowning . Corals that rely on zooxanthellae can die when the water becomes too deep for their symbionts to adequately photosynthesize , due to decreased light exposure. The two main variables determining the geomorphology , or shape, of coral reefs are the nature of the substrate on which they rest, and

2907-492: A settlement on Tutuila at Tula . Over the centuries, the Samoans on Tutuila kept in contact with the inhabitants of the neighboring islands of Western Polynesia, Tonga , and Fiji . Tutuila served as a place of exile for warriors and chiefs who had been defeated in the wars that ravaged much of Upolu for centuries. It was also used as a place to which Upolu rulers banished political opponents. In 1722, Jacob Roggeveen became

3060-565: A story disseminated by the descendants of Betsy Ross . The apocryphal story credits Betsy Ross for sewing one of the first flags from a pencil sketch handed to her by George Washington. No such evidence exists either in George Washington's diaries or the Continental Congress's records. Indeed, nearly a century passed before Ross's grandson, William Canby, first publicly suggested the story in 1870. By her family's own admission, Ross ran an upholstery business, and she had never made

3213-466: A tsunami in 2009. The hurricane of December 4–13, 1991, was the worst disaster faced by entire group of Samoan Islands which was named " Hurricane Val ," which caused immense damages to property in the American Samoa and Western Samoa. The Hurricane Val in comparison to past hurricanes, was very severe and the storm force had a wind velocity of over 100 knots or 166 km (103 mi)/hour. It

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3366-415: A wave of "Flagmania". The Stars and Stripes, which had had no real place in the public conscious, suddenly became a part of the national identity. The flag became a symbol of the Union, and the sale of flags exploded at this time. Historian Adam Goodheart wrote: For the first time American flags were mass-produced rather than individually stitched and even so, manufacturers could not keep up with demand. As

3519-647: A white background. Hopkinson's sketches have not been found, but we can make these conclusions because Hopkinson incorporated different stripe arrangements in the Admiralty (naval) Seal that he designed in the Spring of 1780 and the Great Seal of the United States that he proposed at the same time. His Admiralty Seal had seven red stripes; whereas his second U.S. Seal proposal had seven white ones. Remnants of Hopkinson's U.S. flag of seven white stripes can be found in

3672-423: A zone extending from approximately 30° N to 30° S of the equator. Tropical corals do not grow at depths of over 50 meters (160 ft). The optimum temperature for most coral reefs is 26–27 °C (79–81 °F), and few reefs exist in waters below 18 °C (64 °F). When the net production by reef building corals no longer keeps pace with relative sea level and the reef structure permanently drowns

3825-525: Is also a coral fringed bay; and Leone , a safe anchorage station in the past where the Europeans and Samoans first started their interaction in the early years of the island's history. The southwesternmost settlement is Taputimu , the westernmost settlements are Poloa and Amanave , the northernmost settlement is Vatia and the easternmost settlement is Tula . The island has population of 55,876 ( 2000 census ) (These figures include Aunu'u Island, off

3978-687: Is also called nước Mỹ (or simpler Mỹ ) colloquially in Vietnamese before the name Měiguó was popular amongst Chinese, Hoa Kỳ is always recognized as the formal name for the United States with the Vietnamese state officially designates it as Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ ( chữ Hán : 合眾國花旗 , lit.   ' United states of the Flower Flag ' ). By that, in Vietnam, the U.S. is also nicknamed xứ Cờ Hoa ("land of Flower Flag") based on

4131-955: Is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US, under the administration of the US Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs. American Samoa is primarily divided into two political districts: the Eastern District and the Western District . Tutuila lies in the Pacific Ocean, roughly 4,000 km (2,500 mi) northeast of Brisbane , Australia . The village of Fagatogo is situated 1,238 km (769 mi) northeast of Suva, Fiji . The island lies roughly 530 km (330 mi) north of Niue and roughly 580 km (360 mi) south of Tokelau and roughly 100 km (62 mi) southeast of

4284-511: Is called flower flag ginseng ( simplified Chinese : 花旗参 ; traditional Chinese : 花旗參 ) in Chinese, and Citibank , which opened a branch in China in 1902, is known as Flower Flag Bank ( 花旗银行 ). Similarly, Vietnamese also uses the borrowed term from Chinese with Sino-Vietnamese reading for the United States, as Hoa Kỳ from 花旗 ("Flower Flag"). Even though the United States

4437-578: Is constantly changing. Each reef is made up of irregular patches of algae, sessile invertebrates, and bare rock and sand. The size, shape and relative abundance of these patches change from year to year in response to the various factors that favor one type of patch over another. Growing coral, for example, produces constant change in the fine structure of reefs. On a larger scale, tropical storms may knock out large sections of reef and cause boulders on sandy areas to move. Coral reefs are estimated to cover 284,300 km (109,800 sq mi), just under 0.1% of

4590-445: Is directly attached to a shore, or borders it with an intervening narrow, shallow channel or lagoon. It is the most common reef type. Fringing reefs follow coastlines and can extend for many kilometres. They are usually less than 100 metres wide, but some are hundreds of metres wide. Fringing reefs are initially formed on the shore at the low water level and expand seawards as they grow in size. The final width depends on where

4743-523: Is divided into three zones has a network of hiking trails. The National Park Service (NPS) maintains good information system about these trails. One such trail goes up Mount ʻAlava, a high peak within the park rising to a height of 491 meters (1,611 feet). A TV tower exists on this mountain and also the ruins of a cable car station of a 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long cableway which once ran over Pago Pago Harbor to Solo hill in Utulei . (524m). This cableway, which

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4896-523: Is known about them. The northernmost coral reef on Earth is located near Eilat , Israel . Coral reefs are rare along the west coasts of the Americas and Africa , due primarily to upwelling and strong cold coastal currents that reduce water temperatures in these areas (the Humboldt , Benguela , and Canary Currents , respectively). Corals are seldom found along the coastline of South Asia —from

5049-693: Is now the American national anthem . The flag is currently on display in the exhibition "The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem" at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History in a two-story display chamber that protects the flag while it is on view. On April 4, 1818, a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid in which

5202-418: Is often the reef's most diverse area. Coral and calcareous algae provide complex habitats and areas that offer protection, such as cracks and crevices. Invertebrates and epiphytic algae provide much of the food for other organisms. A common feature on this forereef zone is spur and groove formations that serve to transport sediment downslope. The reef flat is the sandy-bottomed flat, which can be behind

5355-778: Is reported to have damaged gardens. Two different species of flying fox (bats) have also been found on the island (described under National Park). Hard corals recorded are 174 species of 48 genera and sub-genera. The bird species recorded are under endemic category. These are: The Aplonis atrifuscus ( Samoan starling ) group; the Gymnomyza samoensis (black-breasted honeyeater ) group; Halcyon recurvirostris ( flat-billed kingfisher ); Lalage sharpei ( Samoan triller ); Myiagra albiventris (white-vented flycatcher ); Pachycephala flavifrons (yellow-fronted Samoan whistler ); and Rhipidura nebulosa ( Samoan fantail ). Four species of native doves and pigeons are also recorded in all

5508-520: Is rugged and winding with the northern coast line having steep cliffs and unusual coast line. However, the southern part of the island has flatter terrain. Good beaches are located at many places along the coast. It has a wet tropical climate. The highest point in the Tutuila island is the Matafao Peak which is at an elevation of 653 meters (2,142 ft), which is highest peak in the island. There

5661-400: Is that an Ohio teenager and later mayor of Napoleon, Ohio , named Robert G. Heft had designed the 50-star flag, but this was debunked by Alec Nevala-Lee in his investigative article "False Flag" on June 30, 2022. Before the publication of said article the myth had been cited as fact in numerous sources, including Misplaced Pages. On July 4, 2007, the 50-star flag became the version of the flag in

5814-465: Is that the design was inspired by the coat of arms of George Washington's family , which includes three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field. Despite the similar visual elements, there is "little evidence" or "no evidence whatsoever" to support the claimed connection with the flag design. The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington , published by the Fred W. Smith National Library for

5967-511: Is the canopy of ridge top trees, which roost alone or in small groups and are active during day time with two feeding peaks, the Pteropus tonganus (with black colored face with seal brown body) species roost in large groups (100 or more in numbers in each group) in thick forest habitat, also sometimes seen close to villages. Both species have a wing span of 1 m (3 ft 3 in) at adulthood, and weigh about 500 grams. The park which

6120-538: Is trail opposite to the Mount ʻAlava peak (483 km (300 mi)) which dominates the northern part of the island. This 9.7 km (6.0 mi) trail is approached by a metal stairway from the southern end which goes right up to the peak. Trekking along the ridge through the rain forests without any additional support system, the scenic beauty of the South Pacific Ocean provides a delightful sight. In

6273-523: The Boston Courier and later retold by author and U.S. naval officer George H. Preble : When the thirteen stripes and stars first appeared at Canton, much curiosity was excited among the people. News was circulated that a strange ship had arrived from the further end of the world, bearing a flag "as beautiful as a flower". Every body went to see the kwa kee chuen [ 花旗船 ; Fākeìsyùhn ], or "flower flagship". This name at once established itself in

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6426-538: The American Revolutionary War . The flag was created as an item of military equipment to identity US ships and forts. It evolved gradually during early American history, and was not designed by any one person. The flag was mostly unknown to the American public until 1861, when it exploded in popularity as a symbol of opposition to the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter . It came to symbolize

6579-513: The American flag or the U.S. flag , consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states , and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that won independence from Great Britain in

6732-1437: The Cambrian . Sometimes called rainforests of the sea , shallow coral reefs form some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems. They occupy less than 0.1% of the world's ocean area, about half the area of France, yet they provide a home for at least 25% of all marine species , including fish , mollusks , worms , crustaceans , echinoderms , sponges , tunicates and other cnidarians . Coral reefs flourish in ocean waters that provide few nutrients. They are most commonly found at shallow depths in tropical waters, but deep water and cold water coral reefs exist on smaller scales in other areas. Shallow tropical coral reefs have declined by 50% since 1950, partly because they are sensitive to water conditions. They are under threat from excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), rising ocean heat content and acidification , overfishing (e.g., from blast fishing , cyanide fishing , spearfishing on scuba ), sunscreen use, and harmful land-use practices, including runoff and seeps (e.g., from injection wells and cesspools). Coral reefs deliver ecosystem services for tourism, fisheries and shoreline protection . The annual global economic value of coral reefs has been estimated at anywhere from US$ 30–375 billion (1997 and 2003 estimates) to US$ 2.7 trillion (a 2020 estimate) to US$ 9.9 trillion (a 2014 estimate). Though

6885-592: The Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment . Both the stripes (barry) and the stars (mullets) have precedents in classical heraldry. Mullets were comparatively rare in early modern heraldry. However, an example of mullets representing territorial divisions predating the U.S. flag is the Valais 1618 coat of arms, where seven mullets stood for seven districts . Another widely repeated theory

7038-548: The Continental Congress did not adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year. It has historically been referred to as the first national flag of the United States. Often referred to as the Cambridge Flag and Grand Union Flag; the terms domain did not come into use until the 19th century. Although it has been claimed that the more recent moniker, Grand Union Flag, was first applied to

7191-762: The Hoa Kỳ designation. Additionally, the seal of Shanghai Municipal Council in Shanghai International Settlement from 1869 included the U.S. flag as part of the top left-hand shield near the flag of the U.K. , as the U.S. participated in the creation of this enclave in the Chinese city of Shanghai. It is also included in the badge of the Gulangyu Municipal Police in the International Settlement of Gulangyu , Amoy . President Richard Nixon presented

7344-475: The Late Cretaceous (100–66 Ma), when reefs formed by a group of bivalves called rudists existed; one of the valves formed the main conical structure and the other, much smaller valve acted as a cap. Measurements of the oxygen isotopic composition of the aragonitic skeleton of coral reefs, such as Porites , can indicate changes in sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity conditions during

7497-739: The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and the New Caledonian Barrier Reef . Barrier reefs are also found on the coasts of Providencia , Mayotte , the Gambier Islands , on the southeast coast of Kalimantan , on parts of the coast of Sulawesi , southeastern New Guinea and the south coast of the Louisiade Archipelago . Platform reefs, variously called bank or table reefs, can form on the continental shelf , as well as in

7650-592: The Middle Cambrian (513–501 Ma ), Devonian (416–359 Ma) and Carboniferous (359–299 Ma), owing to extinct order Rugosa corals, and Late Cretaceous (100–66 Ma) and Neogene (23 Ma–present), owing to order Scleractinia corals. Not all reefs in the past were formed by corals: those in the Early Cambrian (542–513 Ma) resulted from calcareous algae and archaeocyathids (small animals with conical shape, probably related to sponges ) and in

7803-522: The Siege of Fort Stanwix . Massachusetts reinforcements brought news of the adoption by Congress of the official flag to Fort Schuyler. Soldiers cut up their shirts to make the white stripes; scarlet material to form the red was secured from red flannel petticoats of officers' wives, while material for the blue union was secured from Capt. Abraham Swartwout's blue cloth coat. A voucher is extant that Congress paid Capt. Swartwout of Dutchess County for his coat for

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7956-467: The US Marines . Led by Colonel Lester A. Dessez , they established a military base there and erected concrete bunkers along the island's coast. Despite the island's strategic importance, it escaped almost unscathed from the war, the only exception being an attack launched from a Japanese submarine on January 11, 1942. Since 1951, administration of Tutuila and the other islands of American Samoa has been

8109-688: The Union side of the American Civil War ; Union victory solidified its status as a national flag. Because of the country's emergence as a superpower in the 20th century, the flag is now among the most widely recognized symbols in the world. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes , Old Glory , and the Star-Spangled Banner . The Pledge of Allegiance and the holiday Flag Day are dedicated to it. The number of stars on

8262-594: The canton . It first appeared on December 3, 1775, when Continental Navy Lieutenant John Paul Jones flew it aboard Captain Esek Hopkins ' flagship Alfred in the Delaware River . Prospect Hill was the location of George Washington 's command post during the Siege of Boston in the American Revolution . On New Year's Day in 1776, Washington conducted a flag-raising ceremony to raise

8415-480: The class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria , which includes sea anemones and jellyfish . Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons that support and protect the coral. Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated water. Coral reefs first appeared 485 million years ago, at the dawn of the Early Ordovician , displacing the microbial and sponge reefs of

8568-417: The tropics where the water is agitated, but can only live within a limited depth range, starting just below low tide . Where the level of the underlying earth allows, the corals grow around the coast to form fringing reefs, and can eventually grow to become a barrier reef. Where the bottom is rising, fringing reefs can grow around the coast, but coral raised above sea level dies. If the land subsides slowly,

8721-596: The 11 French sailors only who were members of the Astrolabe and Boussole ships during the La Parouse expedition who were killed by the local Samoans in a clash on December 11, 1787; 11 Chinese and 39 Samoans also died in this conflict but are not mentioned in the honor list. At the defunct cable car terminal on the Solo Hill in Utulei there is a monument built in honor of the six US Navy personnel who died in

8874-445: The 20th century, the flag is among the most widely recognized symbols in the world, and is used to represent the United States. The flag has become a powerful symbol of Americanism , and is flown on many occasions, with giant outdoor flags used by retail outlets to draw customers. Reverence for the flag has at times reached religion-like fervor : in 1919 William Norman Guthrie 's book The Religion of Old Glory discussed "the cult of

9027-486: The Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: " Resolved , That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Flag Day is now observed on June 14 of each year. While scholars still argue about this, tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June 1777 by

9180-612: The Continental Union Flag by G. Henry Preble in his Reconstruction era book Our Flag; the first substantiated use of the name came from Philadelphia resident T. Westcott in 1852 when replying to an inquiry made in Notes and Queries , a London periodical, as to the origin of the U.S. flag. The flag very closely resembles the East India Company flag of the era. Sir Charles Fawcett argued in 1937 that

9333-462: The Great Seal of the United States and the President's seal. The stripe arrangement would have been consistent with other flags of the period that had seven stripes below the canton, or blue area with stars. For example, two of the earliest known examples of Stars and Stripes flags were painted by a Dutch artist who witnessed the arrival of Navy Lieutenant John Paul Jones' squadron in Texel, The Netherlands, in 1779. The two flags have seven stripes below

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9486-501: The Indian Ocean, for example, in the Maldives , the Chagos Islands , the Seychelles and around Cocos Island . The entire Maldives consist of 26 atolls. Coral reef ecosystems contain distinct zones that host different kinds of habitats. Usually, three major zones are recognized: the fore reef, reef crest, and the back reef (frequently referred to as the reef lagoon). The three zones are physically and ecologically interconnected. Reef life and oceanic processes create opportunities for

9639-403: The Samoan island of Upolu . Tutuila is a fairly small and narrow island, measuring roughly 33 km (21 mi) across and little more than 3 mi (4.8 km) from north to south at its widest point. The area of this volcanic island of early Pliocene age is 142.3 km (54.9 sq mi) with a shore line of 101.3 km (62.9 mi). The hill range which runs from west to east

9792-459: The Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon , calls it an "enduring myth" backed by "no discernible evidence." The story seems to have originated with the 1876 play Washington: A Drama in Five Acts , by the English poet Martin Farquhar Tupper , and was further popularized through repetition in the children's magazine St. Nicholas . The first official U.S. flag flown during battle was on August 3, 1777, at Fort Schuyler (Fort Stanwix) during

9945-480: The TV tower at Utulei , one of the three TV channels, was completely damaged by Val, resulting in its cannibalization to maintain the two remaining channels. The Fagalele Boys School , which was one of the oldest European style buildings built in the middle of the 19th century on the west coast of the island in Leone village, was also destroyed by Hurricane Val. At Utulei , at Blunts Point there are two guns of World War II vintage dated to 1941, which are seen in

10098-467: The Tutuila Island village of Pago Pago , as their trading station. However, in 1872, the US Navy recognized that Tutuila's Pago Pago Harbor would be the ideal place for a refueling station for the new San Francisco -to- Sydney steamship service, and negotiated a treaty with the inhabitants that would allow the harbor to be used for this purpose. Six years later, in 1878, the US Congress finally ratified this treaty, enabling it to be implemented. However,

10251-488: The Two Sicilies , described the American flag as consisting of "13 stripes, alternately red, white, and blue, a small square in the upper angle, next to the flagstaff, is a blue field, with 13 white stars, denoting a new Constellation." John Paul Jones used a variety of 13-star flags on his U.S. Navy ships including the well-documented 1779 flags of the Serapis and the Alliance . The Serapis flag had three rows of eight-pointed stars with red, white, and blue stripes. However,

10404-585: The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in American Samoa. After the first recorded hurricane (at least in modern times) hit the Samoan islands on February 10, 1966, which was declared a major disaster, "hurricane homes" called as "fale afa" have been built in the islands for people to take shelter during cyclonic storms. After the hurricane in 1966 the islands have witnessed many disasters due to heavy rains, hurricanes and drought; due to drought in 1974, due to floods, mudslides and landslides in 1979; and due to hurricanes in 1981, 1987, 1990, 1991 and 2004; and

10557-412: The U.S. flag, the seal for the Admiralty Board, the seal for the Treasury Board, Continental currency, the Great Seal of the United States , and other devices. However, in three subsequent bills to Congress, Hopkinson asked to be paid in cash, but he did not list his U.S. flag design. Instead, he asked to be paid for designing the "great Naval Flag of the United States" in the first bill; the "Naval Flag of

10710-434: The US as an external trade partner. Funding from the US government adds substantially to American Samoa's economic well-being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Hurricanes are relatively infrequent and although they sometimes cause substantial damage, the total number of deaths from hurricanes in

10863-467: The US president, John F. Kennedy , appointed H. Rex Lee governor, and approved US expenditure of massive funds to develop Tutuila, which throughout the 1960s was used to finance the building of an international airport, seaport facilities, roads, schools, houses, a hospital, a tuna cannery, a modern hotel, and the installation of electricity throughout the country. in 1962, Western Samoa became independent of New Zealand, leading to uncertainty about whether

11016-484: The US was not the only foreign government with an interest in Tutuila and other Samoan islands. Great Britain and Germany had been showing their interest since the 1860s. In 1879, with the Samoans having declared that they were open to dealing with all three countries, the United States , Great Britain, and Germany together formed a tripartite government over the islands. In 1889, the three foreign governments held

11169-442: The US would continue to have control of American Samoa. The massive US development efforts during the 1960s served to effectively solidify support for the continuation of Tutuila and the rest of American Samoa as a dependency of the United States. In July 1997, Western Samoa changed that country's legal name to "Samoa." This name change was opposed by many Americans, including the inhabitants of American Samoa, who believed that using

11322-599: The UV radiation and allowing them to better adapt to warmer water temperatures. In the event of UV or thermal damage, if and when repair occurs, it will increase the likelihood of survival of the host and symbiont. This leads to the idea that, evolutionarily, clade A is more UV resistant and thermally resistant than the other clades. Clades B and C are found more frequently in deeper water, which may explain their higher vulnerability to increased temperatures. Terrestrial plants that receive less sunlight because they are found in

11475-467: The United States was not unique in adoring its banner, for the flags of Scandinavian countries are also "beloved, domesticated, commercialized and sacralized objects". When the flag was officially adopted in 1777, the colors of red, white and blue were not given an official meaning. However, when Charles Thomson , Secretary of the Continental Congress, presented a proposed U.S. seal in 1782, he explained its center section in this way: The colours of

11628-594: The United States" in the second bill; and "the Naval Flag of the States" in the third, along with the other items. The flag references were generic terms for the naval ensign that Hopkinson had designed: a flag of seven red stripes and six white ones. The predominance of red stripes made the naval flag more visible against the sky on a ship at sea. By contrast, Hopkinson's flag for the United States had seven white stripes and six red ones – in reality, six red stripes laid on

11781-606: The adoption of the East India Company flag by the United Colonies . He said to George Washington, "While the field of your flag must be new in the details of its design, it need not be entirely new in its elements. There is already in use a flag, I refer to the flag of the East India Company." This was a way of symbolizing American loyalty to the Crown as well as the colonies' aspirations to be self-governing, as

11934-435: The army was not officially sanctioned to carry the United States flag into battle. It was not until 1834 that the artillery was allowed to carry the American flag; the army would be granted to do the same in 1841. However, in 1847, in the middle of the war with Mexico , the flag was limited to camp use and not allowed to be brought into battle.) Some wanted to remove the stars of the states which had seceded but Abraham Lincoln

12087-648: The canton. When Hopkinson was chairman of the Navy Board, his position was like that of today's Secretary of the Navy. The payment was not made, most likely, because other people had contributed to designing the Great Seal of the United States , and because it was determined he already received a salary as a member of Congress. This contradicts the legend of the Betsy Ross flag , which suggests that she sewed

12240-502: The coast. The fringing reefs of the Red Sea are "some of the best developed in the world" and occur along all its shores except off sandy bays. Barrier reefs are separated from a mainland or island shore by a deep channel or lagoon . They resemble the later stages of a fringing reef with its lagoon but differ from the latter mainly in size and origin. Their lagoons can be several kilometres wide and 30 to 70 metres deep. Above all,

12393-485: The coastal plains had become continental islands . As sea level rise continued, water topped most of the continental islands. The corals could then overgrow the hills, forming cays and reefs. Sea level on the Great Barrier Reef has not changed significantly in the last 6,000 years. The age of living reef structure is estimated to be between 6,000 and 8,000 years. Although the Great Barrier Reef formed along

12546-535: The company flag inspired the design of the U.S. flag. Both flags could easily have been constructed by adding white stripes to a red ensign , one of the three maritime flags used throughout the British Empire at the time. However, the East India Company flag could have from nine to 13 stripes and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean . Benjamin Franklin once gave a speech endorsing

12699-451: The coral animals. Coral that loses a large fraction of its zooxanthellae becomes white (or sometimes pastel shades in corals that are pigmented with their own proteins) and is said to be bleached , a condition which, unless corrected, can kill the coral. There are eight clades of Symbiodinium phylotypes . Most research has been conducted on clades A–D. Each clade contributes their own benefits as well as less compatible attributes to

12852-415: The corals shelter the zooxanthellae, averaging one million for every cubic centimetre of coral, and provide a constant supply of the carbon dioxide they need for photosynthesis. The varying pigments in different species of zooxanthellae give them an overall brown or golden-brown appearance and give brown corals their colors. Other pigments such as reds, blues, greens, etc. come from colored proteins made by

13005-529: The deep sea away from continental shelves , around oceanic islands and atolls . The majority of these islands are volcanic in origin. Others have tectonic origins where plate movements lifted the deep ocean floor. In The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs , Charles Darwin set out his theory of the formation of atoll reefs, an idea he conceived during the voyage of the Beagle . He theorized that uplift and subsidence of Earth's crust under

13158-476: The early 19th century, navigators passed through the Tutuila, the westward island among the Samoan group of Islands (one of the four islands called as navigators islands), when it was also known by the names of Bougainville, Manuo or Maouna. Midway between this islet and the rock the navigators sighted the Pago Pago harbor, which was marked by "a conical hill on its western side and a flat elliptical topped hill to

13311-660: The early 19th century, particularly in the 1830s. Two notable arrivals among them were John Williams of the London Missionary Society , and the French explorer Louis de Freycinet , who arrived in October 1819 and named Tutuila "Rose Island" in honor of his wife (and fellow explorer) Rose de Freycinet . European traders and Samoan islanders chose to develop the Upolu Island village of Apia , rather than

13464-637: The eastern tip of India ( Chennai ) to the Bangladesh and Myanmar borders —as well as along the coasts of northeastern South America and Bangladesh, due to the freshwater release from the Amazon and Ganges Rivers respectively. Significant coral reefs include: When alive, corals are colonies of small animals embedded in calcium carbonate shells. Coral heads consist of accumulations of individual animals called polyps , arranged in diverse shapes. Polyps are usually tiny, but they can range in size from

13617-509: The eastward." Leone village, large and prosperous, was sighted to the west of the island. To the south-east of the island is the Aunu'u islet. The coastal road runs for a length of 50 km (31 mi) from Fagamalo in the northwest to Onenoao in the far northeast. Important towns and villages now developed in the island are as follows: the Tafuna Urban area, the largest urban area in

13770-534: The exchange of seawater , sediments , nutrients and marine life. Most coral reefs exist in waters less than 50 m deep. Some inhabit tropical continental shelves where cool, nutrient-rich upwelling does not occur, such as the Great Barrier Reef . Others are found in the deep ocean surrounding islands or as atolls, such as in the Maldives . The reefs surrounding islands form when islands subside into

13923-451: The first European to visit the Manu'a islands, located on the eastern end of the Samoan island chain. In 1768, the explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville visited the islands of Samoa and dubbed them the "Navigator Islands," after the islanders' practice of navigating the nearby waters in canoes to catch tuna. European whalers and Protestant missionaries began to arrive in the Samoan Islands in

14076-421: The first Stars and Stripes flag at the request of the government in the Spring of 1776. On 10 May 1779, a letter from the War Board to George Washington stated that there was still no design established for a national standard, on which to base regimental standards, but also referenced flag requirements given to the board by General von Steuben . On 3 September, Richard Peters submitted to Washington "Drafts of

14229-581: The flag for the Alliance had five rows of eight-pointed stars with 13 red and white stripes, and the white stripes were on the outer edges. Both flags were documented by the Dutch government in October 1779, making them two of the earliest known flags of 13 stars. Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey , a naval flag designer and a signer of the Declaration of Independence , designed a flag in 1777 while he

14382-445: The flag is increased as new states join the United States. The last adjustment was made in 1960, following the admission of Hawaii . The current design of the U.S. flag is its 27th; the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777. The 48-star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49-star version became official on July 4, 1959. The 50-star flag was ordered by then president Eisenhower on August 21, 1959, and

14535-415: The flag was changed to have 20 stars, with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted, but the number of stripes would be reduced to 13 so as to honor the original colonies . The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 ( Independence Day ) following the admission of one or more new states. In 1912, the 48-star flag was adopted. This was the first time that

14688-412: The flag were not standardized until 1934. The flag of the United States is the nation's most widely recognized symbol. Within the United States, flags are frequently displayed not only on public buildings but on private residences. The flag is a common motif on decals for car windows, and on clothing ornamentation such as badges and lapel pins. Owing to the United States's emergence as a superpower in

14841-608: The flag" and formally proposed vexillolatry . Despite a number of attempts to ban the practice, desecration of the flag remains protected as free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . Scholars have noted the irony that "[t]he flag is so revered because it represents the land of the free, and that freedom includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest". Comparing practice worldwide, Testi noted in 2010 that

14994-540: The flag. The 1777 resolution was probably meant to define a naval ensign . In the late 18th century, the notion of a national flag did not yet exist or was only nascent. The flag resolution appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee. On May 10, 1779, Secretary of the Board of War Richard Peters expressed concern that "it is not yet settled what is the Standard of the United States." However,

15147-401: The floor often supports seagrass meadows which are important foraging areas for reef fish. The reef drop-off is, for its first 50 m, habitat for reef fish who find shelter on the cliff face and plankton in the water nearby. The drop-off zone applies mainly to the reefs surrounding oceanic islands and atolls. The reef face is the zone above the reef floor or the reef drop-off. This zone

15300-403: The form of two metal tubes projecting from a wall. The guns are seen at two levels, the lower gun is above a green water tank. The second gun is located 200 m (660 ft) above the first gun above the ridge. Both guns are accessible through a staircase made of concrete. In addition, two more guns of identical dimensions are also seen fixed at the harbor mouth at a strategic location to create

15453-403: The fringing reef, barrier reef, atoll and table reef based on Stoddart, D.R. (1969). Spalding et al. list four main reef types that can be clearly illustrated – the fringing reef, barrier reef, atoll, and "bank or platform reef"—and notes that many other structures exist which do not conform easily to strict definitions, including the "patch reef". A fringing reef, also called a shore reef,

15606-463: The fringing reefs keep pace by growing upwards on a base of older, dead coral, forming a barrier reef enclosing a lagoon between the reef and the land. A barrier reef can encircle an island, and once the island sinks below sea level a roughly circular atoll of growing coral continues to keep up with the sea level, forming a central lagoon. Barrier reefs and atolls do not usually form complete circles but are broken in places by storms. Like sea level rise ,

15759-419: The growth of the coral. This technique is often used by climate scientists to infer a region's paleoclimate . Since Darwin's identification of the three classical reef formations – the fringing reef around a volcanic island becoming a barrier reef and then an atoll – scientists have identified further reef types. While some sources find only three, Thomas lists "Four major forms of large-scale coral reefs" –

15912-548: The history of the change in sea level relative to that substrate. The approximately 20,000-year-old Great Barrier Reef offers an example of how coral reefs formed on continental shelves. Sea level was then 120 m (390 ft) lower than in the 21st century. As sea level rose, the water and the corals encroached on what had been hills of the Australian coastal plain. By 13,000 years ago, sea level had risen to 60 m (200 ft) lower than at present, and many hills of

16065-666: The island erodes away and sinks below sea level. Atolls may also be formed by the sinking of the seabed or rising of the sea level. A ring of reefs results, which enclose a lagoon. Atolls are numerous in the South Pacific, where they usually occur in mid-ocean, for example, in the Caroline Islands , the Cook Islands , French Polynesia , the Marshall Islands and Micronesia . Atolls are found in

16218-466: The island is dominated by lowland and montane rain forests. The lowland rain forest at elevation less than 300 m (980 ft) is dominated by Diospyros , Dysoxylum , Pometia and Syzygium species. The montane forest in the elevation range of 300–700 m (980–2,300 ft) consists of Dysoxylum , montane scrub , streams, bushes, mangroves , mangrove lagoons, reefs and submerged coral banks . There are 19 species of land snails in

16371-461: The island out of which 11 are endemic and four are in the threatened category. Mt. Matafao, which has many species of snails, has been researched from this angle since 1917; some of the endemic snails reported here are the Diastole matafaoi (endemic and may be extinct) and Samoana abbreviata (short Samoan tree snail, Partulidae ). Achatina fulica (giant African land snail) introduced in 1975

16524-512: The islands of Samoa. The four species are: Pacific imperial pigeon ( Ducula pacifica ), the crimson-crowned fruit dove ( Ptilinopus porphyraceus ), many-colored fruit dove ( Ptiliopus persousii ) and shy ground dove ( Galicolumba stairi ). Butterflies are another category of avifauna in the island. The recorded species are: the Hypolimnas thompsoni and Papilio godeffroyi (butterfly). The National Park of American Samoa in Tutuila

16677-440: The language, and America is now called the kwa kee kwoh [ 花旗國 ; Fākeìgwok ], the "flower flag country"—and an American, kwa kee kwoh yin [ 花旗國人 ; Fākeìgwokyàhn ]—"flower flag countryman"—a more complimentary designation than that of "red headed barbarian"—the name first bestowed upon the Dutch. In the above quote, the Chinese words are written phonetically based on spoken Cantonese . The names given were common usage in

16830-552: The long winter of 1861 turned into spring, that old flag meant something new. The abstraction of the Union cause was transfigured into a physical thing: strips of cloth that millions of people would fight for, and many thousands die for. In the Civil War, the flag was allowed to be carried into battle, reversing the 1847 regulation which prohibited this. (During the American Revolutionary War and War of 1812

16983-424: The longest use, surpassing the 48-star flag that was used from 1912 to 1959. The U.S. flag was brought to the city of Canton (Guǎngzhōu) in China in 1784 by the merchant ship Empress of China , which carried a cargo of ginseng . There it gained the designation "Flower Flag" ( Chinese : 花旗 ; pinyin : huāqí ; Cantonese Yale : fākeì ). According to a pseudonymous account first published in

17136-418: The main reef, containing chunks of coral. This zone may border a lagoon and serve as a protective area, or it may lie between the reef and the shore, and in this case is a flat, rocky area. Fish tend to prefer it when it is present. The reef lagoon is an entirely enclosed region, which creates an area less affected by wave action and often contains small reef patches. However, the topography of coral reefs

17289-484: The mainland. Unlike fringing and barrier reefs which extend only seaward, platform reefs grow in all directions. They are variable in size, ranging from a few hundred metres to many kilometres across. Their usual shape is oval to elongated. Parts of these reefs can reach the surface and form sandbanks and small islands around which may form fringing reefs. A lagoon may form In the middle of a platform reef. Platform reefs are typically situated within atolls, where they adopt

17442-539: The morale of the men of the Continental Army . The standard account features the Continental Union Flag flying, although in 2006, Peter Ansoff advanced a theory that it was actually a British Union Flag instead. Others, such as Byron DeLear, have argued in favour of the traditional version of events. The Continental Union Flag remained the national flag until June 14, 1777. At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, there were no flags with any stars on them;

17595-538: The most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, when the present design was chosen, after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959. Before that, the admission of Alaska in January 1959 had prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag. When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood in the 1950s, more than 1,500 designs were submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower . Although some were 49-star versions,

17748-400: The name "patch reefs" and often span a diameter of just a few dozen meters. In instances where platform reefs develop along elongated structures, such as old and weathered barrier reefs, they tend to arrange themselves in a linear formation. This is the case, for example, on the east coast of the Red Sea near Jeddah . In old platform reefs, the inner part can be so heavily eroded that it forms

17901-528: The name implies, coral reefs are made up of coral skeletons from mostly intact coral colonies. As other chemical elements present in corals become incorporated into the calcium carbonate deposits, aragonite is formed. However, shell fragments and the remains of coralline algae such as the green-segmented genus Halimeda can add to the reef's ability to withstand damage from storms and other threats. Such mixtures are visible in structures such as Eniwetok Atoll . The times of maximum reef development were in

18054-489: The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chinese now refer to the United States as Měiguó from Mandarin ( simplified Chinese : 美国 ; traditional Chinese : 美國 ). Měi is short for Měilìjiān ( simplified Chinese : 美利坚 ; traditional Chinese : 美利堅 , phono-semantic matching of "American") and "guó" means "country", so this name is unrelated to the flag. However, the "flower flag" terminology persists in some places today: for example, American ginseng

18207-636: The observatory. In the Fagatele Bay of the Tutuila Island where the Hurricane Val made a direct pass over Tutuila the coral reef was completely destroyed, a large strip of the coast was also eroded. In response to this disaster, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) dispatched an assessment team to survey the damage to the reefs. Apart from the cable way which was severely damaged and went permanently out of commission,

18360-415: The ocean, and atolls form when an island subsides below the surface of the sea. Alternatively, Moyle and Cech distinguish six zones, though most reefs possess only some of the zones. The reef surface is the shallowest part of the reef. It is subject to surge and tides . When waves pass over shallow areas, they shoal , as shown in the adjacent diagram. This means the water is often agitated. These are

18513-528: The oceans formed the atolls. Darwin set out a sequence of three stages in atoll formation. A fringing reef forms around an extinct volcanic island as the island and ocean floor subside. As the subsidence continues, the fringing reef becomes a barrier reef and ultimately an atoll reef. Darwin predicted that underneath each lagoon would be a bedrock base, the remains of the original volcano. Subsequent research supported this hypothesis. Darwin's theory followed from his understanding that coral polyps thrive in

18666-535: The oceans' surface area. The Indo-Pacific region (including the Red Sea , Indian Ocean , Southeast Asia and the Pacific ) account for 91.9% of this total. Southeast Asia accounts for 32.3% of that figure, while the Pacific including Australia accounts for 40.8%. Atlantic and Caribbean coral reefs account for 7.6%. Although corals exist both in temperate and tropical waters, shallow-water reefs form only in

18819-490: The offshore outer reef edge formed in open water rather than next to a shoreline. Like an atoll, it is thought that these reefs are formed either as the seabed lowered or sea level rose. Formation takes considerably longer than for a fringing reef, thus barrier reefs are much rarer. The best known and largest example of a barrier reef is the Australian Great Barrier Reef . Other major examples are

18972-451: The open ocean, in fact anywhere where the seabed rises close enough to the surface of the ocean to enable the growth of zooxanthemic, reef-forming corals. Platform reefs are found in the southern Great Barrier Reef, the Swain and Capricorn Group on the continental shelf, about 100–200 km from the coast. Some platform reefs of the northern Mascarenes are several thousand kilometres from

19125-596: The past 50 years is estimated to be fewer than five. Therefore, hurricanes are simply an inconvenience and certainly not the economic development curtailing events portrayed in many writings. More than 90% of the land is communally owned. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Urban development has taken roots in Pago Pago Harbor where fisheries and its allied industries of canneries have been established. The largest Tuna processing plant in

19278-528: The plane crash which occurred as a result of hitting the cableway and crashed into the Rainmaker Hotel ; two tourists staying in the hotel also died in the crash. Coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals . Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate . Most coral reefs are built from stony corals , whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to

19431-429: The polyps' tissues and provide organic nutrients that nourish the polyp in the form of glucose , glycerol and amino acids . Because of this relationship, coral reefs grow much faster in clear water, which admits more sunlight. Without their symbionts, coral growth would be too slow to form significant reef structures. Corals get up to 90% of their nutrients from their symbionts. In return, as an example of mutualism ,

19584-420: The precise condition under which corals flourish. The light is sufficient for photosynthesis by the symbiotic zooxanthellae, and agitated water brings plankton to feed the coral. The off-reef floor is the shallow sea floor surrounding a reef. This zone occurs next to reefs on continental shelves. Reefs around tropical islands and atolls drop abruptly to great depths and do not have such a floor. Usually sandy,

19737-573: The responsibility of the US Department of the Interior. In 1956, Peter Tali Coleman became the first Samoan-born governor of American Samoa. In 1960, during his tenure, protections for the islanders were approved, including protection from confiscation of their lands and from loss of their cultural practices. After 1960, the Flag of American Samoa was made the country's official flag. In 1961,

19890-412: The sea bed begins to drop steeply. The surface of the fringe reef generally remains at the same height: just below the waterline. In older fringing reefs, whose outer regions pushed far out into the sea, the inner part is deepened by erosion and eventually forms a lagoon . Fringing reef lagoons can become over 100 metres wide and several metres deep. Like the fringing reef itself, they run parallel to

20043-609: The shallow water tropical coral reefs are best known, there are also deeper water reef-forming corals, which live in colder water and in temperate seas. Most coral reefs were formed after the Last Glacial Period when melting ice caused sea level to rise and flood continental shelves . Most coral reefs are less than 10,000 years old. As communities established themselves, the reefs grew upwards, pacing rising sea levels . Reefs that rose too slowly could become drowned, without sufficient light. Coral reefs are also found in

20196-529: The southeast coast of Tutuila, which has a land area of 1.517 km (0.586 sq mi) and a population of 476). The economy of American Samoa is dominated by grants from the U.S. Department of Interior. The tuna canning and fishing industries provide the majority of the GDP, although tourism is a promising developing sector. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US with which American Samoa conducts most of its commerce, although American Samoa does not treat

20349-424: The survival of their coral hosts. Each photosynthetic organism has a specific level of sensitivity to photodamage to compounds needed for survival, such as proteins. Rates of regeneration and replication determine the organism's ability to survive. Phylotype A is found more in the shallow waters. It is able to produce mycosporine-like amino acids that are UV resistant , using a derivative of glycerin to absorb

20502-534: The term "Standard" referred to a national standard for the Army of the United States. Each regiment was to carry the national standard in addition to its regimental standard. The national standard was not a reference to the national or naval flag. The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars and the arrangement or whether the flag had to have seven red stripes and six white ones or vice versa. The appearance

20655-476: The territory, encompasses a string of villages from 'Ili'ili to Tafuna proper; Fagatago , the largest town with government offices functioning from Utulei (both are urban centers located to the northeast of Pago Pago); Pago Pago (a deep harbor that divides the island into two parts), the harbor town opposite to Fagatago; the Vatia village on the northern coast known for its famous beach and scenic setting, which

20808-488: The two species of the flying fox ( bats ), which the local Samoans consider as the protective guardian of the forest and also its people. The two species of flying foxes (bats) protected in the park are: Pteropus samoensis (known locally as pe'a voa ) meaning "fruit bat of the forests" and Pteropus tonganus locally called pe'afaunua , which means "fruit bat of settled lands"; The roosting place of Pteropus samoensis (with prominent light colored face with brown body)

20961-504: The undergrowth are analogous to clades B, C, and D. Since clades B through D are found at deeper depths, they require an elevated light absorption rate to be able to synthesize as much energy. With elevated absorption rates at UV wavelengths, these phylotypes are more prone to coral bleaching versus the shallow clade A. Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States , often referred to as

21114-420: The unmodified word "Samoa" as the name for the country that comprised only the westernmost Samoan Islands would be confusing, and would undermine recognition of American Samoa as a distinct country with its own identity. Many American Samoans and other Americans who interact with the Samoan Islands still refer to Samoa informally as "Western Samoa," and to its inhabitants as "Western Samoans." Today American Samoa

21267-488: The vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag. At the time, credit was given by the executive department to the United States Army Institute of Heraldry for the design. The 49- and 50-star flags were each flown for the first time at Fort McHenry on Independence Day , in 1959 and 1960 respectively. A popular myth

21420-526: The villagers utter a particular chant, the shark and the turtle promptly appear. Another Samoan legend concerns a species of bat, known as the flying fox , which is found in a forested area of Tutuila that is part of the National Park of American Samoa . This legend holds that the flying fox is the protector and guardian of the forest and its human inhabitants. The Polynesians first reached Samoa around 1000 BC. By 600 BC, they had established

21573-467: The western islands forming Western Samoa under European control. The Samoans signed off on this proposal in 1900, and the US flag was raised on Tutuila on April 17 of that year. However, the name "American Samoa" was not formally bestowed on the eastern islands until 1911, and the apportionment agreement was not formally ratified until 1929. During World War II , Tutuila was a strategically important island for

21726-691: The world, known as StarKist, is located in Atu'u , across the bay from Fagatogo . In the harbor there is a workshop of the Marine Railways, which takes care of the maintenance and repair of fishing ships. The island has six terrestrial and three marine ecosystems. There are two protected areas in the island namely, the National Park covering an area of 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) and the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary of 66 hectares (160 acres) area. Flora in

21879-561: Was adopted in July 1960. It is the longest-used version of the U.S. flag and has been in use for over 64 years. The first official flag resembling the "Stars and Stripes" was the Continental Navy ensign (often referred to as the Continental Union Flag, first American flag, Cambridge Flag, and Grand Union Flag ) used between 1775 and 1777. It consisted of 13 red-and-white stripes, with the British Union Flag in

22032-542: Was carried to Yokohama by the steamer Great Republic as part of a round-the-world journey in 1871. Prior to the Civil War , the American flag was rarely seen outside of military forts, government buildings and ships. This changed following the Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861. The flag flying over the fort was allowed to leave with the Union troops as they surrendered. It was taken across Northern cities, which spurred

22185-492: Was established in 1988 for preserving its terrestrial and marine environment. It covers an area of 2,000 ha (4,900 acres) 14% of the island and is bound on the north coast between Fagasa and Afono villages. The Rainmaker pass is located within this park with its rainforests. The Amalau Valley between the Afono and Vatia villages in the park has many species of birds and animals. The most significant faunal species consists of

22338-550: Was no "first flag" worth arguing over. Researchers accept that the United States flag evolved, and did not have one design. Marla Miller writes, "The flag, like the Revolution it represents, was the work of many hands." The family of Rebecca Young claimed that she sewed the first flag. Young's daughter was Mary Pickersgill , who made the Star-Spangled Banner Flag . She was assisted by Grace Wisher,

22491-675: Was once the navy headquarters and Catholic Cathedral with painting of a Holy Family scene at the beach. Also seen are the Zion Church (1900) at Leone , the old capital of Tutuila and the monument in front of the church erected in honor of John Williams, the first missionary to visit Tutuila in 1832, the Radio Towers at Mt. Olotele, the Massacre Bay in Aasu village where a monument has been installed in 1883 with stone cross to honor of

22644-540: Was opposed, believing it would give legitimacy to the Confederate states. In the following table depicting the 28 various designs of the United States flag, the star patterns for the flags are merely the usual patterns, often associated with the United States Navy . Canton designs, prior to the proclamation of the 48-star flag, had no official arrangement of the stars. Furthermore, the exact colors of

22797-495: Was reported as the worst in 100 years in its intensity of wind force and the severity of the damage caused in the island. According to the history of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) American Samoa observatory, "Hurricane Val" struck the Tutuila Island from December 7 – 10th. The hurricane's eye passed over the southern end of the island with winds as high as 116 mi (187 km) recorded at

22950-438: Was the East India Company . The theory that the Continental Union Flag was a direct descendant of the East India Company flag has been criticized as lacking written evidence; on the other hand, the resemblance to the company flag is obvious, and some of the founding fathers of the United States were aware of the East India Company's activities and of their free administration of India under Company rule . On June 14, 1777,

23103-644: Was the chairman of the Continental Navy Board's Middle Department, sometime between his appointment to that position in November 1776 and the time that the flag resolution was adopted in June 1777. The Navy Board was under the Continental Marine Committee. Not only did Hopkinson claim that he designed the U.S. flag, but he also claimed that he designed a flag for the U.S. Navy. Hopkinson was the only person to have made such

23256-545: Was the only single-way cable in the world at that time built in 1965, was damaged when a Navy plane attempted to fly under it and was caught by one of the cables, on April 17, 1980, and was permanently put out of commission. The cableway was used to transport the TV technicians to the transmission station. The descent from the peak passes through lovely vistas of the lowlands of the park and the rain forests which abound in several bird species. Another ridge trail runs from Fagasa Pass over

23409-405: Was up to the maker of the flag. Some flag makers arranged the stars into one big star, in a circle or in rows and some replaced a state's star with its initial. One arrangement features 13 five-pointed stars arranged in a circle, with the stars arranged pointing outwards from the circle (as opposed to up), the Betsy Ross flag . Experts have dated the earliest known example of this flag to be 1792 in

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