Asan, Guam

Asan-Maina (Chamorro: Assan-Ma'ina) is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The municipality combines the names of the coastal community of Asan with Maina, a community along the slopes of the Fonte River valley to the east. Asan was the northern landing site for United States Marines during Guam's liberation from the Japanese during World War II. Asan Beach Park is part of the War in the Pacific National Historic Park. The third community comprising Asan-Maina is Nimitz Hill Annex in the hills above Asan and Maina, which is the location of the Joint Region Marianas headquarters. Asan-Maina is located in the Luchan (Western) District.

The Asan River is a river in the United States territory of Guam that lies entirely within the village of Asan-Maina. It originates in the highlands of Nimitz Hill Annex and flows through the Asan Inland Unit of War in the Pacific National Historical Park (WAPA) and enters the community of Asan. It then briefly re-enters WAPA at its Asan Inland Unit, with the mouth at the eastern end of Asan Memorial Park into Asan Bay. The river was thus a significant geographical feature of the Asan Invasion Beach for U.S. forces during the initial landings on Guam in July 1944.

The Asan Invasion Beach is a historic site in the village of Asan, Guam. The beaches of Asan were one of the landing sites of American forces in the 1944 Battle of Guam, in which the island was retaken from occupying Japanese forces. The designated historic site includes the beaches extending between Asan Point and Adelup Point, and extends inland roughly to Guam Highway 1. It also includes the water area extending from the beach to the reef, about 100 metres (330 ft) out, an area that includes at least one abandoned Allied landing vehicle. The beaches, fortifications, and water out to the reef were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Portions of them are part of the Asan Beach Unit of the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, which includes a public access point at Asan Point. Just east of this is Memorial Beach Park, a municipal beachfront park that was listed on the National Register in 1974.

The Asan Ridge Battle Area was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the 1944 Battle of Guam, the World War II battle in which Allied forces recaptured Guam from occupying Japanese forces. The area is now part of the Asan Inland Unit of the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The area is just inland of the Asan Invasion Beach, one of the two major beachheads established by the Allies, and has a commanding view over that area. The landforms included in this area are Chorrito Cliff, Bundschuh Ridge, and Nimitz Hill, and they were heavily fortified by the Japanese prior to the battle. Surviving elements of these fortifications include two concrete pillboxes (one unfinished), and an unfinished battery of 4-inch guns.

Nimitz Hill Annex is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in Asan-Maina, Guam. It contains the geographic feature of Nimitz Hill, and is located immediately northeast of the Nimitz Hill CDP in Piti. In normal conversation, the Nimitz Hill CDP and Nimitz Hill Annex CDP are often collectively referred to as "Nimitz Hill."

The Matgue River is a river in the United States territory of Guam. It gives its name to the NRHP-listed Matgue River Valley Battle Area of the 1944 Battle of Guam.

The Matgue River Valley Battle Area was the site of a decisive Allied victory during the 1944 Battle of Guam. The area was the scene of a major counterattack by Japanese forces against the Allied beachhead, in which the Japanese suffered extremely heavy casualties and were beaten back. After this attack, the remaining Japanese forces on the island retreated to the north. The area is located in the hills southwest of Asan Point along the Matgue River. The only surviving structural remnants associated with the battle are caves dug by the Japanese as defensive positions prior to the invasion. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

The Fonte River is a river in the United States territory of Guam. The NRHP-listed Fonte River Dam is located in its upper reaches, south of Nimitz Hill Annex.

Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve is a marine protected area comprising all of Piti Bay on the western coast of Guam, located off of the village of Piti in the Philippine Sea. The defining "bomb hole" features, named because they look like bomb craters in the reef flat, are actually natural percolation pits where fresh water filters into the shallow lagoon at a depth of 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 m). The largest pit houses the commercial Fish Eye Marine Park tourist attraction, which includes a wooden pier to a underwater observatory and a Seawalker tour of the lagoon bottom. It is visited by more than 200,000 people annually. The Piti preserve is the most ecologically diverse of Guam's five marine preserves. The pit around Fish Eye is a popular snorkeling and recreational diving site.

Joint Region Marianas' mission is to provide installation management support to all Department of Defense components and tenants through assigned regional installations on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in support of training in the Marianas; to act as the interface between the Department of Defense and the civilian community; to ensure compliance with all environmental laws and regulations, safety procedures, and equal opportunity policy; and perform other functions and tasks as may be assigned.

Adelup Point is limestone promontory in Hagåtña, Guam that extends into the Philippine Sea and separates Asan Bay from Hagåtña Bay. It has been the site of the Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor's Complex since 1990. Adelup is therefore a metonym for the Office of the Governor of Guam.

Nimitz Hill is a hill in Asan-Maina, Guam. It lies within the Nimitz Hill Annex CDP (census-designated place). The US Navy headquarters for Guam (Joint Region Marianas and Commander Naval Forces Marianas) lie near the crest of the hill. The hill is named after American admiral Chester W. Nimitz who was Commander in Chief of the Pacific Ocean Areas during World War II with his headquarters in Guam. The hill is capped with limestone belonging to the Alifan limestone formation (Miocene). The limestone is up to 150 feet thick with the base of the bed between 300 and 600 feet altitude. There is a limestone quarry on the hill. There are many caves on Nimitz Hill, some of them large, formed through fractures and sinkholes. On 6 August 1997 Korean Air Flight 801 crashed south of Nimitz Hill killing 228 people out of the 254 on board. The crash was blamed on pilot error exacerbated by the FAA switching off the MSAW within 54 nm of landing. While the crash was nearly on the top of the NIMITZ VOR navigation beacon, the NIMITZ VOR is located on Bijia Peak, separated from Nimitz Hill by the Fonte River valley. However, Nimitz Hill Annex was the closest community to the crash site.