Saipan is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to the 2010 United States Census, Saipan's population was 48,220. Organized as a single municipality, Saipan is known for its sandy shores and mountainous landscapes.

Oahu, known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the State of Hawaiʻi. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast. Including small close-in offshore islands such as Ford Island and the islands in Kaneohe Bay and off the eastern coast, it has a total land area of 596.7 square miles, making it the 20th largest island in the United States. In the greatest dimension, this volcanic island is 44 miles long and 30 miles across. The length of the shoreline is 227 miles. The island is the result of two separate shield volcanoes: Waiʻanae and Koʻolau, with a broad "valley" or saddle between them. The highest point is Mt. Ka'ala in the Waiʻanae Range, rising to 4,003 feet above sea level.

The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, is an insular area and and commonwealth of the United States consisting of fifteen islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The CNMI includes all islands in the Mariana Archipelago except Guam, which is the southernmost island of the chain and a separate U.S. territory. The administrative center is Capitol Hill, a village in northwestern Saipan. However, most publications consider Saipan to be the capital because the island is governed as a single municipality.