Mitiaro, the fourth island in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

group, is of

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...

origin. Standing in water deep it is across at its widest point.

Geography

Mitiaro, also known as Nukuroa, is part of the Nga-Pu-Toru island group formerly, a volcano that became a coral

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gro ...

. The coral died forming fossilised coral (known locally as ''makatea''). The island is surrounded by a belt of this makatea, between high and characteristic of islands in the southern group. The centre of the island is almost flat, quite

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

y and contains two freshwater lakes, Rotonui (big lake) and

Toto Iti Toto may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets * Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' * Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns'' Characters of agency * a character in '' Le château à T ...

(small lake). The lakes are teeming with eels ('' Anguilla obscura''),which the locals call itiki and who reach the lakes from the Ocean through underwater connections, and the imported

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

where it is known as bream. Beaches are limited but there are subterranean limestone caves and the beach at low tide abounds in marine life.

Important Bird Area

The island has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports populations of Rimatara lorikeets and

Cook reed warbler The Cook reed warbler (''Acrocephalus kerearako'') or Cook Islands reed warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It is native to the southeastern Cook Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry f ...

s. It is a non-breeding site for bristle-thighed curlews.

Settlement

The island has four villages, located close together on the western side, from north to south: #Taurangi (a former village) #Atai (also called Arai) #Auta #Mangarei # Takaue Among the populated lifted coral islands of the southern Cook Islands, only Mitiaro is not subdivided into traditional

tapere A Tapere or Sub-District is a low level of traditional land subdivision on five of the Southern Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Mangaia, Aitutaki, Atiu, and Mauke), comparable to the ahupua'a of the main Hawaiian Islands or to the kousapw of Pohnpei. ...

Infrastructure

Mitiaro School Mitiaro School or Apii Tematangarengare is a co-educational school on the island of Mitiaro in the Cook Islands. It is the only school on the island and has a roll of 36 students. The school has three teachers and offers classes from Grade 1 (yea ...

is located in the principal village, Atai. Takaue is the second largest village. Mitiaro Airport is located at the northern end of the island. There are three churches: the Cook Islands Christian Church, the Catholic Church and the Assembly of God. In May 2018 the island's diesel generator was replaced by a

Solar Photovoltaic A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and c ...

system.

History

According to oral tradition Mitiaro was settled from

Atiu Atiu, also known as Enuamanu (meaning ''land of the birds''), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The island's population has dropped b ...

, and was historically dominated by that island. It was first discovered by Europeans when

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...

arrived in 1823. He left behind a Polynesian teacher, Taua, who began converting the islanders to Christianity. The estimated population at that time was less than 100 inhabitants. During the 1840s the island was attacked again by Atiuans. In 1888 Mitiaro became a British protectorate as part of the Cook Islands Federation. In 1901 it was annexed by

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Sources

External links

Map of Mitiaro
{{Coord, 19, 52, S, 157, 42, W, display=title, type:isle Islands of the Cook Islands Important Bird Areas of the Cook Islands