Chapter 2 Guam's Environmental Setting

Guam is a tropical island located near the equator. Due to its location and its tropical climate, Guam does not go through the normal four seasons that we do in California, instead it experiences a warm and humid weather throughout the year. To the people on Guam they experience two types of weather: rainy and sunny weather. From January to April, Guam's climate is dry and receives about 14 inches of rainfall within those months, making the sunny season. From July to October, Guam's climate becomes wet and receives over 47 inches of rainfall thus creating the rainy season. The remaining months act as transitional periods as the weather changes from one season to the other.

According to the type of weather Guam experiences, the people adapt like most places do. Just like other places in the world the weather has a major impact on the agricultural landscapes of the island. This allows the people to constantly adjust to the needs of their plants along with the weather and the soil changing. They had to find ways to attend to their problems in order to continue their businesses of selling fruits and vegetables other than importing and exporting goods. Before the land experienced several settlements by outsiders such as the Europeans, Guam's dominant vegetation was the tropical forest which consisted several plant species that influenced the material of the soil. The soil that covers the island is mainly derived from three locations. The first location is in the southern area of Guam where its soil is made from volcanic material that usually consists of acid. The second location is in the northern area of Guam where it is made from limestone. Lastly, the central area of Guam consists of both soils from the north and the south.

Being from Guam I have experienced the seasons and although I know when the season will occur, the weather can be unpredictable. It can be raining on one part of the island and sunny on the other or it can be raining extremely hard at one point of the day and the next it can be really bright and sunny. Some people may dislike this type of weather but we learn to make the most of it.

Other than the soil and the seasons, in my perspective, Guam is an island paradise. It does not have mountains as high as the ones we have here in the states but it's about the same, the only difference is in height. Guam also has several beaches that are relaxing that even though Guam has a warm and humid climate the ocean breeze is so cool that it compensates for the heat, giving you the right temperature. Also the waves are not as rough as the ones we have here in California that you are actually able to go in the water and swim. 

Here is a short video that I found on Youtube that highlights some places and shows how beautiful Guam is.