Tinian (pronounced /ˈtɪniən/, /ˌtiːniˈɑːn/) is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (14°59’51”N, 145°37’39”E). The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI is a commonwealth in Political union with the United It is perhaps best known for being the base from which the American atomic bomb attacks on Japan during World War II were launched. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
Contents |
Geography
Tinian is about 5 miles (8km) southwest of its sister island, Saipan, and has a land area of 39 sq. Saipan (saɪˈpæn /saɪˈpɑn/ or /ˈsaɪpæn/ in English is the largest Island and Capital of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern mi. (101. 01 km²). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguijan Island (2. Aguijan is a small bean-shaped Coralline island in the Northern Mariana Islands chain situated 8 km southwest of Tinian. 74 sq mi, or 7. 09 km²), it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern Marianas. Tinian Municipality is one of the four constituent Municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands. A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a City, Town, or Village, or The total area of the municipality is 41. 74 sq mi (108. 1 km²). Tinian's largest village is San Jose.
The Island has a variety of flora and fauna, as well as limestone cliffs and caves. There is also a variety of marine life and coral reefs surrounding the island. Its clear, warm waters are ideal for snorkeling and scuba diving, as well as sport fishing.
Points of interest
Tinian has two gas stations and a Casino, The Dynasty, which includes a luxury hotel, shops and restaurants and is adjacent to Tachogna beach and Taga Beach. A filling station, fueling station, gas station, service station, petrol station, or gasbar, Retail Outlet A casino is in the modern sense of the word a facility that houses and accommodates certain types of Gambling activities The village of San Jose has several smaller hotels and restaurants and bars. The airport is small and serviced by two airlines, Freedom Air, which operates daily scheduled flights, and Taga Air, which operates by charter. Freedom Air is an Airline based in Guam. It operates scheduled passenger and cargo services from Guam There is also ferry boat service twice daily between Tinian and Saipan.
Other points of interest on the Island include the North Field, where the remains of the US bomber base and Atom Bomb Pits as well as the remains of Japanese fortifications can be found. The island also has the only intact Shinto shrine on the Mariana Islands.
There are also the ruins of the House of Chief Taga, one of the Chiefs of the Mariana Islands during the Pre-Spanish period. The House of Taga is a Latte stone site, one of the largest such structures in the Marianas. A latte stone, or simply latte (also latde) is the term for a Pillar ( haligi) capped by a hemispherical stone capital The stones are quarried limestone, each approximately 20 feet in length. Of the twelve large Latte structures, only one is still standing.
Much of the local economy is dependent on tourism. The largest employers on the island are the Government and the Casino.
As of March 2006, the island has plans to put in four new casinos. The 2000 census showed a population of 3,540 [1] for the island. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census
World War II
Lightly populated, but heavily garrisoned by Japanese forces in World War II, Tinian, with its sister islands, had passed through Spanish and German hands prior to becoming a Protectorate of Japan after World War I. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries This is a list of former German Empire colonies and Protectorates (Schutzgebiete the German colonial empire. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Under Japanese administration, Tinian was largely a sugar plantation. Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. Fundamentally a plantation is usually a large Farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country on which Cotton, Tobacco
Tinian was captured by the United States in July 1944 in the battle of Tinian. The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from The island was transformed into the busiest airbase of the war, with two B-29 airfields (West and North) having six 8,500 foot (2700 m) runways. An airbase, sometimes referred to as an Air Force Station, a military Airport or airfield, provides basing and support of Military The Japanese had constructed three small fighter strips on Tinian but none were suitable for bomber operations. When the United States turned the entire island, excepting its three highland areas, into a 40,000-personnel installation, construction engineers laid out the base in a pattern of city streets resembling Manhattan and named the streets accordingly. The area south of West Field which was developed from the main Japanese installation at Sunharon was nicknamed "The Village" because its location corresponded to that of Greenwich Village, and a large square area between West and North Fields, used primarily only for the location of the base hospitals and otherwise left undeveloped was called Central Park. Greenwich Village (ˌgrɛnɪtʃ ˈvɪlɪdʒ often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern Manhattan Central Park is a large public Urban park in New York City, with about twenty-five million visitors annually
It was from Tinian that the bombers carrying the atomic bombs Little Boy and Fat Man were launched against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Little Boy was the Codename of the Atomic bomb, developed via the "Manhattan Project" which was dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6 1945 by the "Fat Man" is the codename for the Atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9 The Japanese city of ( is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest of Japan 's ( is the Capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. The bomb had been delivered to the island by the USS Indianapolis on 26 July 1945. Service before World War II Indianapolis was laid down on March 31 1930 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar
The airfields are now overgrown and abandoned. There is a memorial on the old airfield at the loading pits, which had been filled in for safety. Both pits were recently reopened in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian. Originally the pits had been constructed to load the large bombs, since each bomb was too large to be loaded in the conventional manner. The planes were maneuvered over a pit with their bomb bay doors open to facilitate loading.
Education
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System operates public schools. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System is a School district serving the Northern Mariana Islands, a territory of the United States
See also
References
External links
- entry at www.pacificwrecks.com
- Google Maps
- Pascal Horst Lehne and Christoph Gäbler: Über die Marianen. Lehne-Verlag, Wohldorf in Germany 1972. and Tinian
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic