Agrihan

▪ island, Northern Mariana Islands

formerly  Grigan  or  Agrigan 

      one of the Mariana Islands and part of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States. It lies in the western Pacific Ocean, 350 miles (560 km) north of Guam, and has an area of 18 square miles (47 square km. An active volcano that last erupted in 1917, it rises to 3,166 feet (965 metres), the highest point in the commonwealth. Together with Alamagan, Pagan, and several islets, Agrihan forms a municipal council called the Northern Islands, with a total area of 55 square miles (143 square km). Agrihan was the site of the last stand the indigenous Chamorro people made against the Spaniards, who had occupied the Marianas late in the 17th century. In 1810 colonists from the United States and Hawaii established plantations there, but they were expelled by the Spanish administration. Agrihan has some fertile highlands and phosphate deposits. The residents of Agrihan and nearby islands were evacuated in 1990 because of the threat of volcanic eruptions. A resettlement and development plan was later instituted by the islands' government, but by the early 21st century only a handful of residents had returned.

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