Fatutaka
Fatutaka ( tikopianisch for " Secluded stone " ), also known as Fatu Taka Patutaka, Fatacca, Mitre ( English for " miter " ), or Fataka as onomatopoeic transcription from the Tikopianischen language, is an uninhabited volcanic island in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located in the group of the Santa Cruz Islands and belongs politically to the province Temotu the island Republic of Solomon Islands. Fatutaka is removed as easternmost island in the Solomon Islands more than 1140 km from the capital Honiara.
- 2.1 pre-colonial history
- 2.2 From the European " discovery " to the Present
Natural space
Geography
The easternmost island of the state of the Solomon Islands is Fatutaku located approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Anuta. Fatutaka rises steeply from the sea and is clearly seen on clear days from Anuta from. Viewed from the East, the island is described as " two haystacks approximately the same height ", where the southern rugged than the other. The steep cliffs on its northern side is reminiscent of a sailing ship. In fact, the northwestern peak, at 122 meters is slightly higher than the southeast, which reaches a height of around 104 meters. Situated just a few meters off the north side, partly perpendicular emerge from the sea rocks is about 44 meters high. The saddle between the two peaks in the isthmus that connects the two parts of the island, descends to about 15 meters above sea level.
The island extends from northwest to southeast over a distance of one kilometer. In the northwest it reaches its maximum width of 300 meters, while the southeastern portion is only about 130 meters wide. The two parts of the island are connected by a narrow isthmus and about the same size. The total area is about 18 hectares. Other sources implausibly large areas like 1.6 square kilometers, or even 5 km ². The latter is the magnitude of the surface area of the submarine bank on which rests the island and can be seen on the satellite image by a lighter shade of blue. The information in the Lonely Planet Guide, which Fatutaka was greater than the 37 -acre Anuta, contradicts the satellite image.
How steep rock slopes of the island are part of it, a comparison between approximately width (130 meters ) and height ( 104 meters) of the rugged southern part of the island.
Geology
Fatutaka is regional geology seen in the northern part of the New Hebrides island arc system and, together with the Duff Islands and Anuta a chain of volcanic islands, whose formation related to the subduction of the Australian plate beneath the Pacific plate in the area of northern New Hebrides trench is. The result is inter alia a backarc basin, a lake basin. This leads to the rise of basaltic lavas, some of which reach the sea, where they can form islands or island groups. The plattentekonischen movements are associated with numerous, strong earthquakes in this region. East of the island chain is another grave area to find the Vitias trench, but is already inactive and displays an earlier Subduktionslinie.
Fatutaka is therefore of volcanic origin. Petrological consists of basalt and andesite, the island in the form of breccia, each with increased TiO2 content. The age of volcanism that led to the formation of the island is specified with 2.2 million ± 0.1 million years ago.
Flora and Fauna
The island is covered with trees, the north side has more vegetation than the other sides. The originally grown on Fatutaka coconut palms and yams were removed from the inhabitants of the neighboring island of Anuta, so the island for settlers remained unattractive.
The island is used by the inhabitants of the neighboring island as a bird hunting preserve. Charles M. Woodford mentioned in a publication in 1916, frigate birds that nest on the island. End of the 1920s took the American ornithologist Ernst Mayr field research in Melanesia and Polynesia. On Fatutaka he sighted three birds: the Reef egret (Egretta sacra ), the Tongan fruit dove ( Ducula pacifica ) and a subspecies of the Green Winged Dove ( Chalcophaps indica sandwichensis ). All three species are sedentary, but only the latter two species nesting on Fatutaka. However, more detailed information or even an examination of the bird population Fatutakas missing.
Malaria, which is common on many islands of the Solomon Islands, missing on Fatutaka.
History
A permanent settlement there on Fatutaka not, the island is uninhabited.
Pre-colonial history
Since the stony soil is not particularly fertile, the island was no agricultural use, but serves as a fish and game reserve. The Polynesian inhabitants of the neighboring island of Anuta used at West Wind Fatutaka for fishing. In addition, it is said that they had hunted sharks, more because of their teeth, which were tied to wood used as knives and scissors as for their meat, such as Peter Dillon 1830 claimed. In addition, they hunted birds and collected their eggs.
The higher the northwestern summit of the residents Anutas Te Ufi called ( the yams ), and the southeastern summit Te Niu ( coconut ), each according to the previously encountered there vegetation. The highest elevation, located on the Te Ufi is called Mapuanga. A cave on Fatutaka called Te Ano o Pu Tafua, translated The Cave of the Ariki Tafua - Ariki Tafua is the name for one of the four chiefs of the island of Tikopia. Overall, the people of Anuta use as owners, users and the best connoisseurs of Fatutaka 30 geographical names for places on Fatutaka, including access routes in the rock ( Roto te vai, Roto a maka ) and rock faces (Te Maka Rai, Te Maka pu).
From the European " discovery " to the Present
The first European to Fatutaka described, was Edward Edwards (1742-1815), an officer in the British Navy and captain of the frigate HMS Pandora, which reached the island on 12 August 1791. Edwards ' task was to search for the Bounty mutineers and capture them. He gave the island the name Mitre Iceland ( German: " Hat Island " ), as they have the shape of a bishop's miter, or more precisely a cape of the island this form.
Fatutaka was taken on October 1, 1898 by Great Britain in possession, about the same time, since the independence of Solomon Islands 1978 she is with the other islands of the Solomon Islands part of the island state. Administratively it belongs to the province Temotu.
In the last week of December 2002, the cyclone Zoe went with secured wind speeds of 287 km / h and possibly even up to 305 km / h on the Santa Cruz Islands of time.