The island has been sparsely populated, but in modern times has been uninhabited due to volcanic activity.

[6] In 1909, the island was leased by the Pagan Society, a German-Japanese partnership, which continued to export copra.

During World War I, Sarigan came under the control of the Empire of Japan and was subsequently administered as part of the South Seas Mandate.

On May 28, 2010, a submarine volcano 7 mi (11 km) to the south erupted a brief cloud of steam and ash that briefly rose to 49,000 ft (15,000 m) and left a trail of pumice debris on the surface of the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

[10] The island is the summit of a stratovolcano which rises to an altitude of 494 m (1,621 ft)[11] above sea level at its highest peak.

No eruptions have been recorded in the historical period, although a swarm of volcano-tectonic earthquakes took place here in the summer of 2005.

The stratovolcano is at the southern end of the island, and there is a plateau north of it with an elevation of 322 m (1,056 ft) and a width of .42 kilometers (0.26 mi).