Aitutaki ( English Aitutaki ) - an atoll in the Pacific Ocean as part of the Cook Islands , 220 km north of the island of Rarotonga . Aitutaki is the second most visited island tourist destination in the Cook archipelago. The administrative center of the island is Arutanga on the west coast.
| Aitutaki | |
|---|---|
| English Aitutaki | |
 | |
| Characteristics | |
| Number of islands | fifteen |
| total area | 18.05 km² |
| Highest point | 124 m |
| Population | 1771 people (2011) |
| Population density | 98.12 people / km² |
| Location | |
| Archipelago | Cook Islands |
| Water area | Pacific Ocean |
| A country |
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Content
- 1 Geography
- 2 Motu Atoll
- 3 History
- 4 population
- 5 Economics
- 6 notes
- 7 References
Geography
Aitutaki Island is located in the southern part of the Cook Archipelago , 247 km north of Rarotonga Island and 87 km northwest of Manuae . [1] The nearest mainland, Australia , is 5,000 km away. [2]
From the point of view of geology, the island of Aitutaki has a mixed volcanic and coral origin, as a result of which it can be attributed to quasiatolls. [1] The island is mainly composed of nepheline basalt and pyroclastic material, which contains a small amount of trachyte and phonolite blocks. [3]
The shape of Aitutaki resembles a triangle , the sides of which are represented by reefs and coral islands, or motu, surrounding the two volcanic islands of Rapota and Moturakau in the southeastern part and the main island of Aitutaki, represented by low-lying volcanic hills and located in the northern part of the quasi-rock of the same name. [4] The area of the island is 18.05 km². [5] The highest point, the Maungapu Upland, reaches 124 m. [1] The barrier reef that forms the base of Aitutaki has the shape of an equilateral triangle with sides 12 kilometers in length. The southern side of the atoll is almost completely submerged, and the eastern side is a motu chain (including Mangere, Akaiami and Tekopua). There is a gap in the atoll in the southern part of the western side of Aitutaki, allowing boats to enter the lagoon, which occupies a significant portion of the southern part of the triangle.
The climate on Aitutak is tropical . Destructive cyclones occur [2] .
Motu Atoll
Aitutaki Atoll formed from 15 motu :
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History
There are several legends in Polynesian mythology that tell about the settlement of Aitutaki. The legendary ancestors of the locals in them are called three heroes: Ru, Te-Erui and Ruatapu, who were descendants of Athea and Pope, the ancestors of many Polynesian peoples. According to one tradition, the first settler of the island is Te-Erui, who was a native of Avaika, the kingdom of the dead. Learning about the existence of land in the world of light, Te-Erui set off in search of it with his brother Matarek and discovered a half-sunken island that was recaptured by the hero from the ocean and named by him Aitutaki (translated as “led by God”). [5]
According to the most famous legend, the first settlers of the island were immigrants from the island of Tubuaki (presumably Tubuai in French Polynesia ), led by the legendary hero Roux. Due to the overpopulation of Tubuaki, as well as a quarrel with the leader of his clan, Roux decided to go on a canoe voyage in search of an uninhabited island where he and his supporters could settle. [6] His four younger brothers (Taitheraiva, Taitheravaru, Ruatakina and Verituamaroa), his four wives and another 20 girls of high descent, who at that time were virgins, went swimming with him. [7] After a long journey, they managed to swim to an unknown island, which was called Utataki-enua-o-Ru-ki-te-moana ( Eng. Utataki-enua-o-Ru-ki-te-moana , translated as “land which I sought and discovered in the sea of Ru " ). This was the modern island of Aitutaki. [8] Having settled on it, the four brothers of Roux soon decided to go in search of a new island, which they did, presumably reaching New Zealand . [9]
The British explorer William Bly , who opened it on April 11, 1789 while traveling on the Bounty ship to Tahiti, is considered the European discoverer of Aitutaki. According to the logbooks, the islanders met the strangers without any enmity and even gave Bly a pearl breastplate. [5] On May 8, 1791, the Pandora ship sailed past the island under the command of Captain Edward Edwards , who was sent in search of the Bounty, on which the mutiny took place. On July 25, 1792, William Bly again visited Aitutaki, and on April 12, 1814, captain Gudenaf, who left two women captured on Rarotong on it. [5]
The turning point in the history of Aitutaki was the visit on October 26, 1821 of the missionary John William , who landed two teachers from Raiatea on the island. Thanks to their activities, the local population was converted to Christianity . [5]
Since the mid-1850s, Aitutaki often visited whalers , and at the end of the 19th century, due to the threat of annexation from France, local leaders, or Ariks , turned to the British Empire for protection. As a result, in November 1888, Captain Burke held the official ceremony of annexation of the island by Britain. Later Aitutaki for administrative convenience was included in the Federation of Cook Islands, and in 1901 - in the composition of New Zealand . [5]
In 1942, New Zealand and the US military were stationed on Aitutaki. The construction of the runway, which during the Second World War was used by the anti-Hitler allies in the fight against the Japanese, dates back to this time.
Throughout the 1950s, the island was an intermediate point for Tasmanian seaplanes, but this practice was discontinued in 1960 .
In 2006, the American television show Survivor (Lost) was filmed at Aitutaki.
Population
According to the 2011 census, 1771 people live on Aitutaki.
Economics
Aitutaki Atoll is known primarily as a tourist center with a crystal clear lagoon of turquoise color, sandy beaches. You can get to it by air of the Air Rarotonga Airlines, which make flights to the atoll daily.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Aitutaki (English) (link not available) . oceandots.com. Date of treatment October 3, 2009. Archived February 24, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Islands of Cook Islands . UN SYSTEM-WIDE EARTHWATCH Web Site. Date of treatment October 3. Archived February 24, 2012.
- ↑ Fodor RV, Bauer GR, Klaus Keil. Ultramafic inclusions and megacrysts in olivine nephelinite, Aitutaki Island, Cook Islands // New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. - 1982. - T. 25 . - S. 67 .
- ↑ Wood CP Petrology of Aitutaki (Note) // New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. - 1978. - T. 21 , No. 6 . - S. 761 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alphons MJ Kloosterman. Discoverers of the Cook Islands and the Names they Gave . - Cook Islands Library and Museum, 1976 .-- S. 8.
- ↑ Drury Low. Traditions of Aitutaki, Cook Islands (English) // The Journal of the Polynesian Society. - 1934. - Vol. 43 , no. 169 . - P. 17 .
- ↑ Drury Low. Traditions of Aitutaki, Cook Islands (English) // The Journal of the Polynesian Society. - 1934. - Vol. 43 , no. 169 . - P. 18 .
- ↑ Drury Low. Traditions of Aitutaki, Cook Islands (English) // The Journal of the Polynesian Society. - 1934. - Vol. 43 , no. 169 . - P. 21 .
- ↑ Drury Low. Traditions of Aitutaki, Cook Islands (English) // The Journal of the Polynesian Society. - 1934. - Vol. 43 , no. 169 . - P. 23 .