NEAL M. BOWERS

THE MARIANA, THE VOLCANO, AND THE BONIN ISLANDS ARE A PART
of that great series of arcuate islands that can be traced across the
Pacific from Alaska to New Zealand. ¹ They lie south-southeastward
from Japan, forming the central and southern portions of a chain
extending from the Izu Peninsula through Guam. All are high pelagic
islands. Measured against world total they are of microscopic im-
portance in total area, population, and resources. Location, however,
gives them a major place in the spatial relations of global geography.
Aviation technology may some day outdate the need for stopping
points along the Pacific air routes. But, at present, over an ocean
of such vast distances and one in which the total island area is small
as compared with total water surface, the islands, their location, and
their geographic nature are of vital importance in commercial and
military aviation.

During the Second World War the various islands in the Marianas
and Volcanoes were captured or bypassed in the steppingstone offen-
sive towards Japan. Some of the larger ones were developed as
staging areas to be used in the final attack against the enemy. The
precipitous end of the war, following the atomic bombing of Hiro-

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