Pago Bay | |
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Location | Chalan Pago-Ordot, Yona, and Mangilao, Guam |
Coordinates | 13°25′N 144°47′E / 13.42°N 144.79°E |
Etymology | CHamoru for Hibiscus tiliaceus |
Primary inflows | Pago River |
Ocean/sea sources | Pacific Ocean |
Surface area | 1.5 square kilometres (370 acres) |
Pago Bay is the largest bay on the U.S. territory of Guam, located at the mouth of Pago River on the island's eastern coast. There is extensive evidence of CHamoru settlement before Spanish colonization during the late seventeenth century. During the Spanish-Chamorro Wars, the Spanish transferred the populations of Tinian and Aguigan to the village of Pago (Pågu). However, a smallpox epidemic in 1856 killed much of the village's population and the Spanish moved survivors to other villages, leaving the bay shoreline largely uninhabited. The bay is popular with fishermen and recreationalists, and was the site of new housing development in the 2000s.