Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae,[2] is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus, which is a part of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. It is located 79 kilometres (49 mi) southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser group, which also is in French Polynesia. Makatea is surrounded by spectacular cliffs, rising to a plateau 80 metres (260 ft) above sea level. This island is 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) long, with a maximum width of 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) in the south. It is 24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi) in area. Makatea is one of the only four islands of the Tuamotu Archipelago (along with Nukutavake, Tikei, and Tepoto Nord) that do not take the form of a typical atoll.
Makatea is one of the only Paumotuan islands with potable water. Its native name derived from the drinking water being brought out of its dark caves by the local people. "Mā," pure, clear; used here to mean water, "Atea," light of day and "K" for euphony. The other name of the Island was Mangaia-te-vai-tamāe, meaning "Mangaia of the purified (or clear) water."
There is a ghost town, Vaitepaua, and an adjacent abandoned port, Temao, on the northwest coast of Makatea. These are from the times of phosphate mining (1917 to 1964).[3] Makatea is one of three important Pacific raised coral islands that had large phosphate deposits, the other two being Nauru and Banaba. The Pacific Phosphate Company Ltd, (PPC), which was founded by John T. Arundel and involved in mining at Nauru and Banaba, formed the Compagnie des Phosphates de l'Océanie with a Tahitian syndicate to mine phosphate on Makatea.[4] In September 1909, Ocean Queen, a ship owned by the PPC, was wrecked on the reef at Makatea; a bent connecting rod caused the engines to stop and the current carried the ship onto the reef.[4]
Phosphate mining drew hundreds of people to Makatea in the years before the French Centre d'Experimentation du Pacifique (CEP) started nuclear experiments. For over two decades or even longer, Makatea was a very active little island because of the ships arriving to load phosphate and to bring supplies and food to the many workers and their families that lived there. After the end of the phosphate exploitation, Makatea was almost totally left on its own with only a few families left to guard the island.
The mining produced thousands of hand-dug holes across the upper plateau of Makatea. Each cylindrical hole is about 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) in diameter and 15 metres (49 ft) to 23 metres (75 ft) in depth. One of the deepest, called "the pothole", located under the windmill, is 80 metres (260 ft) deep and reaches the water table. An unsuspecting visitor could easily fall into a hole and die while walking in the thick undergrowth that hides these holes. The once active village where the miners lived had a school, bakery, first-aid medical centre, and all the things needed to make life comfortable. All that remains today has been destroyed by time and nature. The school and other places have been levelled to the ground and grown over by vines and jungle.
In February 1956 the United States submarine Caiman en route from Tahiti to Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas encountered the MV Nasarada, under Capt Oto Orbeck, in distress several miles from Makatea at about 05:00hrs. The vessel had nine persons and six pigs on board. Unable to repair the engine, USS Caiman towed the Nasarada to Pearl Harbor, and subsequently requested permission to enter the harbor at Makatea. Permission was denied by the French. The submarine towed the Nasarada to the harbor entrance and proceeded on to the Marquesas.[5]
Makatea is the only home to endemic birds, the Polynesian imperial pigeon, Ducula aurorae aurorae, (status Endangered), and the Makatea fruit dove (status Vulnerable), and formerly a range of endodontid land snails.[6]
Flag
Flag of Makatea
The symbolism of the 2:1:2 horizontal triband is as follows: The top stripe is light blue and represents the sky, the white middle stripe represents the name White Rock (papa tea in Tahitian) and the bottom stripe is deep blue symbolizing the sea that surrounds the island. The red star singles out Makatea within the Tuamotu Archipelago, with its 16 blue-starred flag, and is a 'rocky' allusion to the symbolism of the middle stripe, uniting sky and sea and completing a red-white-blue reference to the French flag. Mayor Julien Maï of Makatea and vexillographer Colin Randall of Australia designed the flag.
^"Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
^Young, J.L. (1899). "Names of the Paumotu Islands, with the old names so far as they are known". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 8 (4): 264–268. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
^. Tahiti Heritage. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 11 Sep 2011.
^ abMaslyn Williams & Barrie Macdonald (1985). The Phosphateers. Melbourne University Press. ISBN978-0-522-84302-6.
^"US NAVTY TO RESCUE". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXVI, no. 8. 1 March 1956. p. 111. Retrieved 30 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^Sartori, André F; Gargominy, Olivier; Fontaine, Benoît (2014). "Radiation and decline of endodontid land snails in Makatea, French Polynesia". Zootaxa. 3772: 1–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3772.1.1. PMID 24871282.
External links
May 05, 2023
makatea, district, cook, islands, district, mangaia, tamae, raised, coral, atoll, northwestern, part, tuamotus, which, part, french, overseas, collectivity, french, polynesia, located, kilometres, southwest, from, rangiroa, west, palliser, group, which, also, . For the district of the Cook Islands see Makatea district Makatea or Mangaia te vai tamae 2 is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus which is a part of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia It is located 79 kilometres 49 mi southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser group which also is in French Polynesia Makatea is surrounded by spectacular cliffs rising to a plateau 80 metres 260 ft above sea level This island is 7 5 kilometres 4 7 mi long with a maximum width of 7 kilometres 4 3 mi in the south It is 24 square kilometres 9 3 sq mi in area Makatea is one of the only four islands of the Tuamotu Archipelago along with Nukutavake Tikei and Tepoto Nord that do not take the form of a typical atoll MakateaNASA picture of Makatea AtollMakateaShow map of French PolynesiaMakateaShow map of OceaniaMakateaShow map of Pacific OceanGeographyLocationPacific OceanCoordinates15 51 S 148 15 W 15 850 S 148 250 W 15 850 148 250 Coordinates 15 51 S 148 15 W 15 850 S 148 250 W 15 850 148 250ArchipelagoTuamotusArea24 km2 9 3 sq mi Length7 5 km 4 66 mi Width7 km 4 3 mi AdministrationFranceOverseas collectivityFrench PolynesiaAdministrative subdivisionTuamotusCommuneRangiroaLargest settlementMoumuDemographicsPopulation68 1 2012 Satellite Image of Makatea Island Contents 1 History 2 Administration and demography 3 Wildlife 4 Flag 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory Edit Map of Makatea Makatea is one of the only Paumotuan islands with potable water Its native name derived from the drinking water being brought out of its dark caves by the local people Ma pure clear used here to mean water Atea light of day and K for euphony The other name of the Island was Mangaia te vai tamae meaning Mangaia of the purified or clear water The island was called Sagitario in 1606 by Pedro Fernandes de Queiros who led a Spanish expedition to Terra Australis from Peru citation needed Over a century later it was named Aurora by Dutch mariner Jakob Roggeveen in 1722 Later the Polynesians called it Papa Tea which means white rock There is a ghost town Vaitepaua and an adjacent abandoned port Temao on the northwest coast of Makatea These are from the times of phosphate mining 1917 to 1964 3 Makatea is one of three important Pacific raised coral islands that had large phosphate deposits the other two being Nauru and Banaba The Pacific Phosphate Company Ltd PPC which was founded by John T Arundel and involved in mining at Nauru and Banaba formed the Compagnie des Phosphates de l Oceanie with a Tahitian syndicate to mine phosphate on Makatea 4 In September 1909 Ocean Queen a ship owned by the PPC was wrecked on the reef at Makatea a bent connecting rod caused the engines to stop and the current carried the ship onto the reef 4 Phosphate mining drew hundreds of people to Makatea in the years before the French Centre d Experimentation du Pacifique CEP started nuclear experiments For over two decades or even longer Makatea was a very active little island because of the ships arriving to load phosphate and to bring supplies and food to the many workers and their families that lived there After the end of the phosphate exploitation Makatea was almost totally left on its own with only a few families left to guard the island The mining produced thousands of hand dug holes across the upper plateau of Makatea Each cylindrical hole is about 2 4 metres 7 ft 10 in in diameter and 15 metres 49 ft to 23 metres 75 ft in depth One of the deepest called the pothole located under the windmill is 80 metres 260 ft deep and reaches the water table An unsuspecting visitor could easily fall into a hole and die while walking in the thick undergrowth that hides these holes The once active village where the miners lived had a school bakery first aid medical centre and all the things needed to make life comfortable All that remains today has been destroyed by time and nature The school and other places have been levelled to the ground and grown over by vines and jungle In February 1956 the United States submarine Caiman en route from Tahiti to Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas encountered the MV Nasarada under Capt Oto Orbeck in distress several miles from Makatea at about 05 00hrs The vessel had nine persons and six pigs on board Unable to repair the engine USS Caiman towed the Nasarada to Pearl Harbor and subsequently requested permission to enter the harbor at Makatea Permission was denied by the French The submarine towed the Nasarada to the harbor entrance and proceeded on to the Marquesas 5 Administration and demography EditMakatea Island forms a commune associee of Rangiroa commune with 93 inhabitants 2002 census The main village is called Moumu The islanders live off agriculture culture of copra some fishing and the trade of coconut crabs Wildlife EditMakatea is the only home to endemic birds the Polynesian imperial pigeon Ducula aurorae aurorae status Endangered and the Makatea fruit dove status Vulnerable and formerly a range of endodontid land snails 6 Flag Edit Flag of Makatea The symbolism of the 2 1 2 horizontal triband is as follows The top stripe is light blue and represents the sky the white middle stripe represents the name White Rock papa tea in Tahitian and the bottom stripe is deep blue symbolizing the sea that surrounds the island The red star singles out Makatea within the Tuamotu Archipelago with its 16 blue starred flag and is a rocky allusion to the symbolism of the middle stripe uniting sky and sea and completing a red white blue reference to the French flag Mayor Julien Mai of Makatea and vexillographer Colin Randall of Australia designed the flag See also EditFrench Polynesia Nauru BanabaReferences Edit Population Institut de la statistique de la Polynesie francaise Retrieved 2 October 2014 Young J L 1899 Names of the Paumotu Islands with the old names so far as they are known Journal of the Polynesian Society 8 4 264 268 Retrieved 7 January 2015 Archeologie industrielle du phosphate Makatea Tahiti Heritage Archived from the original on 25 December 2012 Retrieved 11 Sep 2011 a b Maslyn Williams amp Barrie Macdonald 1985 The Phosphateers Melbourne University Press ISBN 978 0 522 84302 6 US NAVTY TO RESCUE Pacific Islands Monthly Vol XXVI no 8 1 March 1956 p 111 Retrieved 30 January 2023 via National Library of Australia Sartori Andre F Gargominy Olivier Fontaine Benoit 2014 Radiation and decline of endodontid land snails in Makatea French Polynesia Zootaxa 3772 1 68 doi 10 11646 zootaxa 3772 1 1 PMID 24871282 Oceandots Map of Makatea Avifauna of Makatea Atoll Research Bulletin v 300 External links EditAtoll list in French Classification of the French Polynesian atolls by Salvat 1985 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Makatea amp oldid 1136395523, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
