Guam (gwäm), the largest of the Ladrone or Marianne Islands in the north Pacific, ceded by Spain to the United States by the treaty of Paris, Dec. 10, 1898. The island is about 32 miles in length by 6 in width, and lies 1,500 miles from Manila and 4,000 from Honolulu. It is useful as a coaling station, possesses a good roadstead and about 12,000 of a population. It is a direct link in the chain of possessions between the United States (port of San Francisco) and the Philippine Islands. The climate is humid but salubrious, and the heat is tempered by the trade-winds. The capital is Agaña (pop. 6,000).