Rapa Iti
NASA picture of Rapa
|
|
 Rapa Iti
|
|
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 27°36′S 144°20′W / 27.600°S 144.333°W |
| Archipelago | Australes |
| Area | 40.57 km2 (15.66 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 650 m (2,130 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Perau |
| Administration | |
|
France
|
|
| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
| Administrative subdivision | Austral Islands |
| Commune | Rapa Iti |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 515 (2012) |
| Pop. density | 13 /km2 (34 /sq mi) |
| Rapa Iti | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
 |
||
| Coordinates: 27°36′S 144°20′W / 27.60°S 144.33°WCoordinates: 27°36′S 144°20′W / 27.60°S 144.33°W | ||
| Country | France | |
| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia | |
| Arrondissement | - | |
| Canton | - | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2014-2020) | Tuanainai Narii | |
| Area1 | 40.61 km2 (15.68 sq mi) | |
| Population (2012)2 | 515 | |
| • Density | 13/km2 (33/sq mi) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 98741 / 98751 | |
| Elevation | 0–650 m (0–2,133 ft) | |
|
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
||
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Rapa, sometimes called Rapa Iti (Little Rapa, to distinguish it from "Rapa Nui" (Big Rapa), a name for Easter Island), is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo. Its area is 40 km2 with a population of almost 500 and a max elevation of 650 m. Its main town is Ahuréi.
Rapa Iti is located at 27°35′00″S 144°20′00″W / 27.58333°S 144.33333°W. It is shaped roughly like a Greek final sigma (ς), with a well-protected central bay, surrounded by a ring of relatively high mountains. The whole island appears very much to be the peak of a sinking volcano, with the bay as the caldera.
Its main town, Ahuréi (or Ha'uréi), lies on the southern shore of that bay, which is called the Baie d'Ahuréi. A smaller village, 'Area, is located on the northern shore of the bay. The people are Polynesian. Former times' warfare is indicated by 28 extant ridgetop forts. Today Rapa is home to the Tahitian Choir, in which a third of the island's population sing traditional songs.
Although sometimes considered part of the Austral Islands, Rapa Iti and the Bass Islands have a different geological, linguistic and cultural history.
Rapa Iti was first settled by Polynesians, most likely in the 13th century. Their Polynesian dialect developed into what is today the Rapa over the centuries. It is believed that the depletion of natural resources on the island resulted in warfare, and the inhabitants lived in up to 14 fortified settlements ("pa" or "pare", a type of fort) on peaks and clifftops. It is considered that the oldest of these is Morongo Uta, which was developed c. 1450–1550 AD.
...
Wikipedia