Page 402 - Micronesia

Saipan Guide Map

Saipan is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a com- geared toward Japanese or Korean tourism, though the heavy reliance
monwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. Accord- on Philippine dive staff ensures that many will also be able to handle
ing to the 2010 United States Census, Saipan’s population was 48,220. English-speaking customers. Saipan International Airport (SPN) is
The Commonwealth’s center of government is located in the village of located in the southeast corner of the island. Direct flights are avail-
Capitol Hill on the island. As the entire island is organized as a single able from Tokyo and Nagoya (via Delta Air Lines), Seoul (via Asiana),
municipality, most publications term Saipan as the Commonwealth’s Hong Kong (via Fly Guam) and the nearby islands of Guam, Tinian,
capital. Saipan is the second largest island in the Mariana Islands ar- and Rota.
chipelago, after Guam. It is located about 120 mi (190 km) north of
Guam. The highest elevation on Saipan is a limestone-covered moun-
tain called Mount Tapochau at 1,560 feet (480 m). Unlike many of the
mountains in the Mariana Islands, it is not an extinct volcano, but is
a limestone formation.

While English is certainly the lingua franca on Saipan, few people
on the island (adults in particular) speak English as their first lan-
guage. Nevertheless, nearly everybody does speak English to varying
degrees. Many local residents, who often use English at school or at
work, speak Chamorro or Carolinian (both official in addition to Eng-
lish) or another of the Micronesian languages at home. The majority
of people living on Saipan are overseas contract laborers, however.
These people come mostly from the Philippines, China, Bangladesh,
and Thailand. Furthermore, Korean, Japanese and (more recently)
Russian and Chinese tourists make their languages fairly prevalent in
the tourist areas as well.

Most hotels are geared toward a particular language/nationality such
as Japanese or Korean, which represent most of the tourism. A notable
exception is Pacific Islands Club, which is geared toward a multilin-
gual/multinationial clientele. Likewise, most of the SCUBA shops are