The National Park of American Samoa

Ofu South Shore - Photograph Chris Stein

Talofa - Welcome!
The people of American Samoa and the National Park Service welcome you into the heart of the South Pacific, to a world of sights, sounds, and experiences that you will find nowhere else in the United States.

Located some 2,600 miles southwest of Hawai`i, this is one of the most remote national parks in the United States. It is also one of the newest; it was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1988 and officially established in 1993 when a 50 year lease was signed.

The park preserves the only mixed-species paleotropic rainforest in the United States, habitat of rare flying foxes (fruit bats), as well as Indo-Pacific reefs. In keeping with the meaning of the word Samoa - "sacred earth" - the park helps protect fa`asamoa, the customs, beliefs, and traditions of the 3,000 year-old Samoan culture.