Tahuata
| Tahuata | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Archipelago | Marquesas | |
| Geographical location | 9 ° 56 ′ 0 ″ S , 139 ° 6 ′ 0 ″ W | |
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| surface | 61 km² | |
| Highest elevation | Tumu Mea Ufa 1050 m |
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| Residents | 671 (2007) 11 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | Vaitahu | |
_50_Prozent_verkleinert_(cropped).jpg) |
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Tahuata is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean .
geography
Tahuata belongs geographically to the southern group of the Marquesas Islands and politically to French Polynesia . With a land area of 61 km² and 671 inhabitants (as of 2007) it is the smallest inhabited island in the Marquesas. It is only about four kilometers south of the southern tip of Hiva Oa .
The population is divided into four villages, two on the west coast, Vaitahu et Hapatoni, and two on the east coast, Motopu et Hanateio, each village in its own valley. The main town is Vaitahu on the west coast of the island, the highest point is the approximately 1,050 meter high Tumu Mea Ufa ( French Mont Amatea ).
history
In 1595, Alvaro de Mendaña de Neyra anchored in Vaitahua Bay and named the islands Las Marquesas. After the landing of James Cook in 1774, the port was named Vaithaus Resolution Bay. The first Catholic and Protestant missionaries came ashore. The island was annexed together with the other Marquesas Islands in 1842 by the French admiral Abel Aubert Dupetit-Thouars , but the French stationed there left the island in 1847. It was not until 1880 that gendarmes visited it again, who are still there today Maintain order. Today the Tahuatas live in peace and quiet, grow food in the fertile valleys, make copra and go fishing.
tourism
The island is not connected to the traffic. A ship berths at regular intervals to provide the residents with essentials. From time to time Tahuata is visited by cruise ship passengers .
View from a mountain
Church in Tahuata
Coconut palm forest
