Pago Pago, pronounced "PAHNG-oh PAHNG-oh", is the capital of American Samoa, a territory of the United States of America. Its 1990 population was 10,640. The city is located on Tutuila Island. Pago Pago is the only port of call in American Samoa. Tourism and tuna canning are important industries. From 1878 to 1951 it was a coaling and repair station for the U.S. Navy.
The city is an interesting mixture of a seedy urban area with infamously smelly tuna canneries (which provide employment for a third of the population of Tuitula), and an harbor surrounded by dramatic mountains which plunge straight into the sea. A steep climb up to Mt Alava provides a magnificent bird's eye view of the harbor and town. Until 1980, one could experience the views from the peak by taking an aerial tramway over the city harbor, but on April 14 of that year a US Navy plane, flying overhead as part of the Flag Day celebrations, crashed into its cable. It remains unreconstructed to this day, though according to the Lonely Planet website, there have been plans to reopen it.
External Link
Photos of Pago-Pago - Terra Galleria
