Rainmaker Mountain, American Samoa

For scenic beauty, this U.S. territory in the South Pacific rivals the legendary islands of Bora Bora and Moorea in French Polynesia. Distinctive Rainmaker Mountain overlooks the town of Pago Pago (pronounced Pango-Pango) and its beautiful harbor, dumping an average of 200 inches of rain per year on the town. People say the mountain looks like a sleeping man lying on his back, and once you've seen it that way, it's hard to see it differently.

In 1921, the British writer, W. Somerset Maugham, published a short story entitled, "Rain," that was set in Pago Pago. Of the rain, he wrote, "It did not pour, it flowed." In this sultry setting, a zealous minister tries to reform a prostitute named Sadie Thompson, who is fleeing a crackdown on vice in Hawaii, and he ends up being seduced by her. A great, old movie entitled "Rain" was made from this story, starring Joan Crawford as Sadie. It's an absorbing character study with lots and lots of South Pacific atmosphere.

See Beautiful
Pago Pago Harbor

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