Maug Islands

Maug Islands, Mariana Islands
  • ISS014-E-18439
  • 28 March 2007
  • 23:24 UTC

The Maug Islands, located in the north of the Mariana chain between Asuncion (36 km to the southeast) and Farallon de Pajaros (64 km to the northwest), consist of three small islets that are the remains of a collapsed volcanic cone.

The islets — North (227 m), East (215 m) and West (178 m) — tightly enclose a circular-shaped lagoon of 2.5 km across formed by the old caldera floor. The lagoon has an average depth of 200 m, although rises to a minimum of around 20 m where a lava dome rises in the centre. The islands of Maug are all steep-sided and have a combined land area of less than 2 km². They are vegetated mostly with grasses, with low scrub and a few coconut trees being found where slopes are less precipitous.


image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center

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