The Marianas Archipelago is among many island groups in the North and South Pacific. The Northern Mariana Islands and Guam are located in a group of islands known as Micronesia, north of the equator. Other island groups in Micronesia include the independent nations of The Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau – all of which are "freely-associated" with the United States of America. Hawaii, isolated in the middle of the north Pacific, is one of the fifty United States. American Samoa, located 3500 miles southeast of Guam, is an unincorporated insular area of the United States.