Plants of Guam = i tinanom guahan siha

Abstract

Guam is the largest and southern-most island in the Marianas chain. It lies about.13° North latitude and has a wet and dry season of approximately equal lengths. The island is about 30 miles long and ranges from four in the middle to eight miles in width and is oriented in a northeast, southwest direction. The pre- vailing winds are easterly and bring an average annual rainfall of about 85 inches. A range of hills extends from the waist toward the south on the western side. The highest of these hills, 1300 feet, is Mt. Lamlam which lies toward the south end and commands a view of the entire island. A fringing reef on the western side extends from north to south and to the middle of the island on the east. A number of beautiful bays and sandy beaches occur in this section of the coast line. On the north end, sheer limestone cliffs rise to 600 feet elevation and descend in a series of wave-cut ter- races to an algal bench just above sea level. The bench, composed of coral and coralline algae, is flat and contains numerous tidal pools rich in marine algae and invertebrates.