Some good news out of the South Pacific today. The tsunami wave train that smacked the National Park of American Samoa last month didn't damage park artifacts as much as first thought. And that's largely because of the park staff's efforts to rescue the items from the waters that inundated park headquarters.

Large chapters of Samoan history were washed away when a tsunami wave train inundated the headquarters of the National Park of American Samoa in Pago Pago on September 29.

A series of tsunami waves triggered by an earthquake in the South Pacific slammed into the U.S. territory of American Samoa shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday, local time, killing nearly three dozen islanders and reportedly demolishing the headquarters and visitor center of the National Park of American Samoa.

If you mention whale watching, many people immediately think of prime coastal locations in Alaska, California or New England, but probably not the South Pacific. Biologists at the only U. S. national park south of the equator recently noted the birth of an endangered humpback whale.

Solitude. Who doesn’t treasure some from time to time? And some of the greatest draws of national parks is their peacefulness and the ability for you to pass through an entrance gate and escape the pressures of day-to-day life. Where can you find some of the best solitude in the National Park System? Read on for some of the Traveler’s top picks for solitude.

A tiny clutch of islands in the South Pacific harbors not only the National Park of American Samoa, one of the National Park System’s oft-overlooked delights, but also some of the last vestiges of the many-Colored Fruit Dove, a colorful bird that long has captivated those lucky enough to spy it.