Vanikoro
| Vanikoro | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Archipelago | Santa Cruz Islands | |
| Geographical location | 11 ° 37 ′ S , 166 ° 58 ′ E | |
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| length | 23.4 km | |
| width | 13.6 km | |
| surface | 173 km² | |
| Highest elevation | Mount Banie 923 m |
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| Residents | 1293 (2009) 7.5 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | puma | |
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Vanikoro or Vanikolo is an island in the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands (SW Pacific) and is considered part of the Santa Cruz Islands . The local name is Banie . Neighboring islands are Utupua (about 40 km northwest of Vanikoro) and the small island of Tikopia (about 210 km southeast).
geography
The islands (there are actually two larger islands, of which Banie is the much larger, as well as two smaller islands) are approximately 11.6 ° south latitude and 167 ° east longitude and cover an area of 173 km². In the immediate vicinity of the main island of Banie (a good 150 km²) is the also inhabited island of Teanu (a good 20 km²), as well as the smaller islands of Manieve and Nanunga. With the exception of the coral island of Nanunga, which lies on the northern fringing reef, the islands are of volcanic origin. Coral reefs surround the islands, which are mostly densely forested, like atolls . The highest point is the Mt. Banie with about 923 m. The photo in the info box gives an insight into the morphology.
geology
Vanikoro and the surrounding islands were probably formed by volcanism during the Pliocene and Pleistocene . Basalts were mainly extracted. A more precise age specification for the volcanic rocks does not exist. The cause of volcanism in this area is the subduction of the Indo-Australian under the Pacific plate . The island is now volcanically inactive and extensively eroded. Nevertheless, some crater structures can be seen, e.g. B. at Mt. Banie on the island of the same name and at Mt. Tangalo on Teanu. The island of Manieve in the center of the archipelago probably represents a chimney filling of the volcano .
population
The islands are sparsely populated with a population of 900 (including 700 on Banie and the rest on Tevai). The total of seven villages are all on the coast (six on Banie, three of which are Polynesian with the Polynesian main village Peu , each with around 100 inhabitants, and the main village Puma, the only village on Tevai, with 200 inhabitants). The mountainous and wooded interior of the island is uninhabited. The Melanesians make up the majority of the population with a number of 600. There are also three Polynesian villages on the southeast coast. The southeast part of the island is a Polynesian exclave . Due to the isolation of the islands, the inhabitants are mainly dependent on fishing and agriculture for food. There is only irregular contact with other islands via supply ships from Honiara, as Vanikoro has neither a landing strip nor a developed port.
history
The island is traditionally Melanesian. The Polynesians came to Vanikoro from Tikopia in the last few centuries . They also temporarily settled on Teanu in the northeast, but currently live in Peu and two other villages in the south of the main island of Banie.
Vanikoro Island became famous during the 18th and 19th centuries when searching for survivors of the La Pérouse expedition. The two French ships l'Astrolabe and La Boussole under the command of Jean-François de La Pérouse ran aground on the coast of Vanikoro in 1788. No survivors were found from subsequent expeditions (including Jules Dumont d'Urville , 1828). The fall of l'Astrolabe is depicted on a Solomon Islands postage stamp. Jules Verne mentions Vanikoro and the La Pérouse expedition in his novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea . In his novel Jerry, the Islander, Jack London describes an island chief of the Solomon Islands who possesses the severed and South Sea-style head of some of the expedition members and makes reflections about death.
Picture gallery
Dumont d'Urville after the Pérouse monument was erected (approx. 1829)
The La Pérouse monument in Manieve Bay today
NASA image by Vanikoro
swell
- BD Hackman, RA Dennis, JB Lai: 1: 50,000. Solomon Islands. Vanikolo. Eastern outer islands geological map sheet EOI 6th Geological Surveys Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Honiara (Solomon Islands) 1977 (coordinates: E 166 46 - E 167 01 / S 011 35 - S 011 45).
- Jean-François de La Pérouse : To the cliffs of Vanikoro. World tour on behalf of Louis XVI. 1785-1788. According to La Pérouse's diaries recorded by ML-A. Milet-Mureau. Translated, edited and edited by Klaus Fischer. Verlag Neues Leben, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-355-00540-1 .
- Alexandre François: Maps of the Vanikoro Island . CNRS, Paris.
