National Park of American Samoa

Meet the national and regional winners of the 2017 Freeman Tilden Award; the National Park Service's highest award for excellence in interpretation.

Calderas are large collapse features that can be many miles in diameter. They form during especially large eruptions when the magma chamber is partially emptied, and the ground above it collapses into the momentary void. Crater Lake and Aniakchak Crater are calderas.

Cinder cones are typically simple volcanoes that consist of accumulations of ash and cinders around a vent. Sunset Crater Volcano and Capulin Volcano are cinder cones.

As climate changes, significant changes in weather conditions impact the natural environment by shifting patterns of precipitation, promoting extremes in storm behavior, and influencing bird migration, invasive species spread, coral reef decline, and much more. The Pacific Island Network (PACN) undertakes systematic long-term monitoring of a wide variety of natural resources to accurately determine if change is occurring and why.

Found throughout the Indo-Pacific the crown of thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci is one of the largest sea stars in the world (up to 45 cm across). Unlike the typical starfish with five arms, the crown of thorns starfish is disc-shaped with multiple arms (up to 21) covered in poisonous spines. These unique features gave rise to this starfish's commonly referred to name of the crown of thorns.

The dump for the village of Ofu is adjacent to this world-class coral reef. The dump has been in operation since 1985 and contains trash buried in unlined pits with porous soils that may allow chemical leaks to the reef. These chemicals may be harmful to the coral reef and human health. Before now, there has never been a study to determine whether pollutants are moving from the landfill to the lagoon.

Corals reefs around the world are feeling the heat from rising ocean temperatures. But coral communities off the coast of Ofu Island in the National Park of American Samoa provide some measure of hope for the future.

Young lava flows also have structures and textures that reveal information about their eruptions. Basaltic lava flows come in two major forms: Pāhoehoe and ‘A‘ā.