The Mariana Island group forms a double arcuate chain of some 15 volcanic and volcanic-limestone islands in the western Pacific, approximately 2500 km east of the Philippine archipelago. The islands form the eastern limit of the Philippine Sea. Originally settled by Micronesian peoples, the islands have since passed through Spanish, German, Japanese, and American hands. Ferdinand Magellan, in 1521, was the first European visitor to the Marianas, which he named Islas de los Ladrones. At present all the islands except Guam are part of the U.S. Pacific Islands Trust Territory (Micronesia), with the seat of government on Saipan. Guam (q.v.), the largest and southernmost island, is a separate territory of the United States. The following geologic review is based on Cloud, P. E., Jr. et al. (1956), Tracey, J. I., Jr. Tracey et al. (1964), and Karig (1971), except when explicitly noted.
The islands stretch over a length of 800 km in two chains that form parts of the Mariana island arc system...
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Karig, D.E. (1975). Mariana islands . In: World Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31081-1_70
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31081-1_70
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