Matureivavao
above water) | |
Length | 6.6 km (4.1 mi) |
---|---|
Width | 4.6 km (2.86 mi) |
Administration | |
France | |
Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
Administrative subdivision | Tuamotus |
Commune | Gambier Islands |
Demographics | |
Population | Uninhabited[1] (2012) |
Matureivavao, or Maturei-vavao
Geography
Matureivavao is about 6.6 km (4.1 mi) long in a NNW-SSE direction and 4.6 km (2.9 mi) wide. It has a land area of 2.5 km2 (1.0 sq mi) and a lagoon area of 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi). It lies 16 km (10 mi) southeast of Tenarunga and 1,390 km (860 mi) from Tahiti. The atoll is high enough to be visible from a considerable distance. It appears as a sandy beach, backed by a line of dark green. In bad weather, the seas sometimes sweep over the reef. There is no entrance to the lagoon.
In some maps, this atoll also appears as "Melbourne".
History
The first recorded sighting of this atoll was made during the Spanish expedition of the Portuguese navigator
Flora and fauna
After the hurricane in 1983, Matureivavao was entirely replanted with thousands of coconut trees.[7] The atoll is home to a variety of Amaranthaceae including the genus Achyranthes aspera var. velutina.[8] It is also one of the few atolls in which rats were never introduced.
See also
- Tenararo
- Tenarunga
- Vahanga
- Acteon Group
- Desert island
- List of islands
References
- ^ "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Brand, Donald D. The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.136.
- ^ Kelly, Celsus, O.F.M. La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo. The Journal of Fray Martín de Munilla O.F.M. and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernández de Quirós to the South Sea (1605–1606) and the Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617–1627) Cambridge, 1966, p.39,62.
- ^ Pacific Island: Eastern-Pacific – Geographical handbook series, James Wightman Davidson and Naval Intelligence Division, editions Naval Intelligence Division, 1945, p.224.
- ^ Archaeology of Mangareva and neighboring atolls by Kenneth Pike Emory, editions Kraus, 1971, pp.58–60.
- ISBN 9782880325091.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 9782709915434.
- Sailing Directions, Pub 126, "Pacific Islands" NIMA 2002; page-12
External links