Rota

Rota (island)

Rota

Rota is the southernmost of the CNMI.
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	14°09′13″N 145°12′11″E
Archipelago	Marianas
Area	85.38 km2 (32.965 sq mi)
Country
United States
Commonwealth	Northern Mariana Islands
Demographics
Population	2,527 (2010 - U.S. Census Bureau)[1] (as of 2010)

Rota (Chamorro: Luta) also known as the peaceful island, is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the second southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. It lies approximately 40 miles north-northeast of the United States territory of Guam. Songsong village is the largest and most populated followed by Sinapalo village (Sinapalu).

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Transportation 4 Education 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

History

In 1521 the first European to see Rota was the lookout on Magellan's ship Victoria, Lope Navarro. However, Magellan's armada of three ships didn't stop until they reached Guam, so the first European to arrive in Rota (in 1524), was Spanish navigator Juan Sebastian Elcano, who annexed it together with the rest of the Marianas Archipelago on behalf of the Crown of Spain. The Japanese garrison during World War II consisted of 1,031 Imperial Japanese Army men of the 10th Independent Mixed Brigade, under the command of Major Shigeo Imagawa, and about 600 Imperial Japanese Navy men.^[2] The current mayor is Melchor A. Mendiola, a local businessman.

Geography

Rota is approximately 11 miles (17 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide. Its coastline is about 38 miles (62 km) long. The highest point on Rota is Mt. Manira which is 1,625 feet (495 m) high. Rota is 47 miles (76 km) north of Guam, and is 63 miles (101 km) south of Tinian and is 73 miles (117 km) south of Saipan. Rota has diverse flora and fauna.

Transportation

Rota has an airport, Rota International Airport.

Education

Rota Island in Northern Mariana Islands

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System operates public schools.
Rota has two public schools:

• Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Junior & Senior High School. In August 2011, Rota's junior and senior high schools were merged due to budget concerns. They are now Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Junior & Senior High School. With this merger, the junior high now consists only of the 7th and 8th grades. The 6th grade was moved to Sinapalo Elementary in Sinapalo Village. RHIJSHS is located on the former junior high school campus in Songsong Village.
• Sinapalo Elementary School is located in Sinapalo village.

Rota's elementary school and junior high school (middle school) were formerly located in the same area and shared class buildings at Songsong village. After the new elementary school was built in Sinapalo, the Songsong village school ground was reopened as Rota Junior High. In 2010, the junior high school was renamed for the former Commissioner of Education, Dr. Rita Hocog Inos.
Rota has two private schools:

• Eskuelan San Francisco De Borja (ESFDB): Prep-9th Grade (Located in Songsong Village)
• Grace Christian Academy (GCA): Prep-9th Grade (Located in Sinapalo Village)