A photo of Guam's capital Hagåtña from the article, "Guam - Perch of the China Clippers" which was published in the July 1938 issue of National Geographic.

A photo of Guam’s capital Hagåtña from the article, “Guam – Perch of the China Clippers” which was published in the July 1938 issue of National Geographic.

The caption for the image reads “The Housetops of Agaña, Landmarks for the China Clippers that Span the Vast Pacific.”

It continues, “The large smokestack of the power plant, which supplies the island with electricity, looms as the most prominent feature of Guam’s capital. The break in the coral reef offshore marks the original mouth of the Agaña River. Under a Spanish governor in 1852, a new channel was dug which led the stream through the city, providing a water supply and laundry facilities close at hand. The river now flows into the sea beyond the outskirts of the town, not visible in this view from Fort Apugan.”