United States
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
85.4km²
Area
58km
Coastline
495m
Highest point
3,283
People
30°C
Warmest sea
August
2,756km
To the mainland
When to go to Rota
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in August (30 °C) and coolest in February (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the Northern Mariana Islands
Rota is an island in United States. It covers 85.4 km², with 58 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 495 m. About 3,283 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2,756 km away.
Getting there
- Rota International Airport (ROP)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at GUM airport (Hagåtña)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 2,756 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Rota.
- 8beachesLalayak Beach, Mochong Beach, Teteto Beach and 5 more
- 2viewpointsLookout and radio tower, Gagani Point Cliff view
- 1marinas
- 5named peaksSabana, Ginalangan, Sinapalu and 2 more
- 1ruins and archaeological sitesPetroglyph cave
- 2campsitesTweksberry beach camp sites, Camp site and start of water fall trek
- 2hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 2restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Rota in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Rota, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
3mountainsPeakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.5°C
Teteto Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Mount Taipingot
- Mount Sabana
- Sinapalu Lower Terrace
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 184 m above the sea. 71 % of it is below 200 m.
- 16 %0–50 m
- 55 %50–200 m
- 29 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 75 | 46 | 39 | 45 | 59 | 92 | 195 | 327 | 280 | 234 | 126 | 64 |
| Wet days | 13 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 26 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 20 | 14 |
| Sun h/day | 7.4 | 8.1 | 9.0 | 9.8 | 10.0 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.9 | 7.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 27 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 25 | 27 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.1 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
| 2021 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.7 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.8 |
| 2023 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.5 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q949090) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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