Guguan

Guguan is an island in the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The island is currently uninhabited. Guguan is located 30 nautical miles (56 km) south from Alamagan and 250 nautical miles (463 km) north from Saipan, and is 67 nautical miles (124 km) northeast from Sarigan.

Geography

Guguan is roughly circular in shape, with a length of 2.8 kilometers (1.7 mi) and a width of 2.3 km (1.4 mi) and an area of 3.87 km² (1.49 sq mi). The island consists of two stratovolcanoes, the southern of which having a height of 287 m (942 ft) above sea level, and the northern of which having a height of 263 m (863 ft). The only recorded eruption was around in 1883, from the northern peak, which produced pyroclastic flows as well as lava flows which reached the coast. The coast is bordered by steep basaltic rock with gables of high ridges which contain deep, rain-eroded gorges.

History

Guguan was discovered in 1668 by the Spanish missionary Diego Luis de Sanvitores who charted it as San Felipe. It is likely that it was previously visited in 1522 by the Spanish sailor Gonzalo de Vigo, deserter from the Magellan expedition in 1521, who was the first European castaway in the history of the Pacific. Uninhabited at the time, in contrast to other islands in the Marianas it was never colonized. As with the other islands in the northern Marianna, Guguan was sold by Spain to the German Empire in 1899, and administered as part of German New Guinea. From 1909-1912, the island was leased to a Japanese company, who sent hunters to gather bird feathers for the European hat industry.

Guguan (hot spring)

Guguan (Chinese: 谷關; pinyin: Gǔguān) is a hot spring located in Heping District, Taichung City, Taiwan. It is accessible from Provincial Highway 8. It was previously named Meiji Onsen.

History

During the period of Japanese rule, Guguan's hot spring was discovered by local aborigines. In 1927, the Japanese built a public bath.

In September 11–12, 1937, Kinji Yamada found lots of ancient stone artifacts around the area. During the 1950s, Liu Jih-Wann also found lots of stone artifacts, which in that area created the Guguan Archaeological Site.

After the Nationalists came to Taiwan, they planned a route across the island, passing through Guguan, which would be the Provincial Highway 8. When the road was finished, it brought tourism to Guguan, and Guguan thrived. It peaked at 1974, and because of poor management, Guguan made a turn for the worse. The 921 earthquake caused massive damage to the highway, cutting the road in several sections. From the 37 km mark (Guguan) to the 62 km mark (Te-Chi), the damage was unknown. It was until 117 days later, on January 18, 2000, that the road was cleared