Pitt Island

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Pitt Island
NASA image of Pitt Island
NASA image of Pitt Island
Waters South pacific
Archipelago Chatham Islands
Geographical location 44 ° 18 ′  S , 176 ° 13 ′  W Coordinates: 44 ° 18 ′  S , 176 ° 13 ′  W
Pitt Island (New Zealand Outlying Islands)
Pitt Island
length 14.2 km
width 10 km
surface 62 km²
Highest elevation Waihere Head
241  m
Residents 45
<1 inh / km²
main place Flower Pot (Onoua)
Map of the Chatham Islands with Pitt Island in the southeast
Map of the Chatham Islands with Pitt Island in the southeast

Pitt Island (Moriori: Rangiaotea ; Māori : Rangiauria ) is the second largest island of the Chatham Islands in the southwestern Pacific , and thus belongs to New Zealand , which is about 800 kilometers away from the islands.

geography

Pitt Island is located 20 km southeast of the main island Chatham Island and is separated from it by the Pitt Strait . The island is about 14 km long, up to 10 km wide and has an area of ​​62 km². It has a permanent population of around 45 people, who mainly live in the village of Flower Pot (Moriori: Onoua ) on the bay of the same name in the northwest of the island. There are also individual properties such as North Head (east of Mont Hakepa), where New Zealand's easternmost residential building is located. Pitt Island is thus the easternmost inhabited island in New Zealand, only the uninhabited rocks of Star Keys and Forty-Fours are further east. Pitt Island is quite hilly - its highest points are Waihere Head at 241 m and Mont Hakepa at 231 m above sea level.

The island is partly forested and has very fertile soil. European fruits flourish and wheat is also grown, but only in quantities for local consumption.

There is a lighthouse at Moutapu Point , the northern tip of the island .

discovery

The island was probably first discovered by William Robert Broughton's crew on his ship HMS Chatham in 1791. It owes its name to a William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham .

photos

  • Kahuitara Point (southern tip of the island) as seen from Mont Hakepa

  • Flower Pot Bay to the northwest (1877)

Web links

Commons : Pitt Island  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files