Saipan is the largest island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. The Commonwealth consists of a chain of fifteen tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. Saipan is located at (15°10’51”N, 145°45’21”E) and has a total area of 44.55 sq mi (115.4 km). According to the 2010 United States Census, Saipan’s population was 48,220, a drop of 22.7% from the 2000 US Census; the population decrease is largely attributed to working immigrants and their families either returning to their home countries after the collapse of the garment industry or moving to other locations with economic opportunities such as Guam and the United States.
The Commonwealth’s center of government is located in the village of Capital Hill on the island. As the entire island is organized as a single municipality, most publications term Saipan as the Commonwealth’s capital.
Located at latitude of 15.25° north and longitude of 145.75° east, about 120 mi (190 km) north of Guam, Saipan is about 12 mi (19 km) long and 5.6 mi (9.0 km) wide. It is a popular tourist destination in the Pacific.
The western side of the island is lined with sandy beaches and an offshore coral reef which creates a large lagoon. The eastern shore is composed primarily of rugged rocky cliffs and a reef. Its highest point is a limestone covered mountain called Mount Tapochau at 1,560 ft (480 m). Many people mistakenly believe Mount Tapochau to be an extinct volcano, but it is in fact a limestone