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Saipan[sI´pan, sIpAn´] Pronunciation Key, volcanic island (2000 pop. 62,392), 47 sq mi (122 sq km), W Pacific, capital of the Northern Mariana Islands. It is mountainous; the highest peak is Mt. Tagpochau (1,526 ft/465 m). Clothing is the main export, but sugarcane, coffee, citrus fruits, and coconuts are grown, and the island has phosphate and manganese deposits. Saipan, with the other Marianas, was mandated to Japan in 1920 by the League of Nations. In World War II the island (site of a Japanese airbase) was taken by U.S. forces in 1944 and became a base for air attacks on the Japanese mainland. From 1953 to 1962 Saipan was used to train Nationalist Chinese guerrillas for infiltration of the Chinese mainland.
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