Palmerston Island

Template: Infobox Atoll / Maintenance / height Missing

Palmerston (Cook Islands Maori: Pamati ) is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It is located in the southern part of the Cook Islands about 650 kilometers north- west of the main island of Rarotonga, from which it is administered.

Geography

Palmerston North is the westernmost and most remote atoll in the southern Cook Islands. It consists of over 30 islands ( motus ), which rest on a 15 -acre fringing reef. The atoll has a north-south extent of 10 km and an east-west extent of 7 kilometers. The largest islands are Palmerston Iceland, North Iceland and Leicester Iceland, the total land area of all islands is 2.1 km ². Numerous passages between the Motus allow the insertion into the lagoon. The islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and pandanus trees (Pandanus ), but there are no natural sources of fresh water.

History

The atoll was discovered on June 16, 1774 by James Cook on his second Pacific voyage and named by him after Admiral Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston. However, James Cook landed only during his third Pacific voyage on 13 April 1777 Palmerston.

In 1863 landed the ship's carpenter William Masters, together with three Polynesian women of Manuae coming to Palmerston and annexed the islands. In 1862 he received a lease over the islands in 1954, they were officially a family, which now " Marsters " is the name passed as full ownership. Even today, the atoll is inhabited by the descendants in a small village on Palmerston Iceland, the population is given as 60 (as of 2011). Most descendants Masters today live on Rarotonga, Cook Islands and the other in New Zealand.

In the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, Palmerston was recognized several times by tropical cyclones, which destroyed a large part of each of the copra harvest.

Tourism

In the hurricane - free period, ie approximately from April to November Palmerston is very popular as an anchorage for yachts. From time to time the atoll of cruise ships is underway that will bring their passengers with motorized rubber boats in the lagoon.

Economy

The inhabitants of Palmerston live from the sale of parrot fish, which they filleted on site and freeze and then sell mainly to Rarotonga.