APRA HARBOR

also called Port Apra, port on the west coast of Guam, Mariana Islands, western Pacific. It is the best anchorage on the island and is located just west of Agana. It is the port of entry and site of a U.S. naval base. With 2,400 feet (730 m) of frontage for deepwater docking, it is a transshipment point for various Micronesian islands. The harbour, which is protected (south) by Orote Peninsula and (north) by Cabras Island and reefs, was the point of the Allied seaborne invasion of Guam (July 21, 1944) during World War II. It attained renewed importance as a base with the escalation of the war in Vietnam in the 1960s. A commercial port with facilities for handling containerized cargo was opened in the harbour in 1969. Pop. (1980) 5,633.