Mataiva

Coordinates: 14°53′S 148°43′W / 14.883°S 148.717°W / -14.883; -148.717
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mataiva
above water)
Length10 km (6 mi)
Width5.36 km (3.331 mi)
Highest elevation14 m (46 ft)
Highest point(unnamed)
Administration
France
Overseas collectivityFrench Polynesia
Administrative subdivisionTuamotus
CommuneRangiroa
Largest settlementPahua
Demographics
Population280[1] (2012)

Mataiva (meaning "Nine Eyes" in Tuamotuan), Tepoetiriura ("Sparkling Pearl")[2] or Lazarev atoll[3] is a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. It is located in the Palliser group, and is the westernmost of the Tuamotus. The nearest atoll, Tikehau, is located 35 km to the east. Rangiroa is located 79 km to the east, and Tahiti is 311 km to the south.

Geography

Mataiva lagoon
Mataiva in French Polynesia

The atoll's oval-shaped

tonnes. Although similar deposits exist in Makatea and Nauru, Mataiva inhabitants and ecosystems protection activists have successfully prevented its exploitation for the time being.[2]

The lagoon is open to the sea at a single pass in the Northwest, the site of Pahua, the only village on the atoll. The pass at Pahua is only a few feet deep and is not navigable;[4] the 110 m (360 ft.) concrete levee, which connects the two halves of the village, is the longest bridge in French Polynesia. A number of narrow passages (known in Tuamotuan as hoa'a) along the south-central part of the reef are known as the "Nine Eyes", giving the name to the atoll.[2] Aside from the rocky coral features, there are also several small islets located within the lagoon serving as a sanctuary and breeding ground for rare maritime birds.

The forest on the atoll is vastly untouched by human activity.[2]

History

The first recorded European to visit Mataiva was the Russian Admiral and oceanic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, on July 30, 1820 on ships Vostok and Mirni. He named this atoll "Lazarev" after Mikhail Lazarev.

On April 14, 1980, the voyaging

Hokule'a - a replica of an ancient vessel of the kind that carried native explorers throughout the Pacific - made landfall on Mataiva. The canoe had been navigated from Hawaii without instruments or charts for 31 days by Nainoa Thompson
. Thompson navigated in the ancient way - using only the stars, winds, waves and flight of birds to find land. In the last 26 years Hokule'a has voyaged virtually all the routes taken by Polynesians throughout the Pacific, helping to ignite a renaissance of culture among Polynesians everywhere.

Mataiva Airport was inaugurated in 1999. Air Tahiti operates flights to Papeete.

In the southeastern part of the main island is an ancient ceremonial platform (marae in

archaeological sites in the Tuamotus.[6]

Economy

Mataiva's primary export is vanilla, cultivated at a small plantation on the interior of the island. The islands are covered with coconut palms, the source of the other main economic activity: copra production. Since the inauguration of the airport in 1999, tourism is becoming a new economic activity on Mataiva.

Administration

Mataiva Atoll belongs to the

commune of Rangiroa, which consists of 3 atolls (Rangiroa itself, Tikehau and Mataiva, and a separate island (Makatea
).

References

  1. ^ "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Mataiva, Eden des Tuamotu Publisher: Air Tahiti: Polynesian Airline - News (in French). Author: Jean-François Butaud. Accessed 22 February 2010
  3. ^ Young, J.L. (1899). "Names of the Paumotu Islands, with the old names so far as they are known". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 8 (4): 264–268. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b Mataiva Travel Information Publisher: Lonely Planet. Accessed 22 February 2010
  5. ^ Mataiva - Islands Adventures Archived 2010-01-24 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 22 February 2010
  6. ^ Marae Papiro de Tu Paure Publisher: Tahiti Heritage (in French). Accessed 22 February 2010

External links


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