Raivavae ( Tahitian: ''Ra‘ivāvae'' /ra.ʔi.va:va.e/) is one of the

Austral Islands The Austral Islands ( officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France, overseas country of the France, French Republic in the Oceania, South Pacific. Geographicall ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

. Its total land area including offshore islets is .Environnement marin des îles Australes
/ref> At the 2022 census, it had a population of 900. The island is of volcanic origin, and rises to elevation at Mont Hiro.

History

The first sighting by Europeans was recorded by the Spanish naval officer

Tomás Gayangos Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) Tomás is a Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Irish language, Irish (also in the archaic forms ''Thomaz'', ''Thomás'' and ''Tomaz (disambiguation), Tomaz'') given name equiva ...

on board of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

''El Aguila'' on 5 February 1775. Gayangos had taken over the command of the expedition of

Domingo de Bonechea Domingo Bernardo de Bonechea Andonaegui (21 September 1713 – 26 January 1775) was a Spanish Navy officer and explorer. He is known for having tried to incorporate Tahiti into the Spanish Empire. De Bonechea's exploratory voyages were commission ...

of 1774 after his death in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

and was returning to the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

. The main source describing this sighting is that of José Andía y Varela, pilot of the

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

''Jupiter'' that accompanied ''El Aguila'' in this return trip. On 6 February, a boat was sent in, and made contact with the inhabitants at the shore edge, but landing was not made. Raivavae was charted as ''Santa Rosa'' by the Spaniards, who recorded as ''Oraibaba'' the name of the island said by the inhabitants. The island was annexed by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1880.

Geography

Raivavae is a

volcanic island Geologically, a volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term high island can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

that culminates with Mont Hiro at an altitude of 437 meters. Its land area is 16 km^2. It is surrounded by a fairly large lagoon, but smaller than that of

Tubuai Tupuai ( ) is the main island of the Austral Island group, located south of Tahiti. In addition to Tubuai, the group of islands include Rimatara, Rurutu, Raivavae, Rapa and the uninhabited Îles Maria. They are part of the Austral Islands ...

. The surrounding

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

comprises twenty-eight motu (islets). It is 630 km southeast of

. Raivavae lies in the Cook-Austral volcanic chain, a series of

submarine volcano Submarine volcanoes are underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. Many submarine volcanoes are located near areas of tectonic plate formation, known as mid-ocean ridges. The volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges ...

es and volcanic islands that stretches along the south of the Pacific Plate. The central island of Raivavae was formed from a

hotspot Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tr ...

on the Pacific Plate, whose

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

production ended about 6.5 million years ago. The main island has four villages: Anatonu on the north coast, Rairua and Mahanatoa on the west coast, and Vaiuru on the east coast. The native language of Raivavae is a variant of the

Austral language Austral (''Reo Tuha‘a pae'') is an endangered Polynesian language or a dialect continuum that was spoken by approximately 8,000 people in 1987 on the Austral Islands and the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The language is also referred to ...

called Reo Raivavae.

Administration

The islands of Raivavae are administratively within the commune with the same name. Raivavae consists of the following associated communes:Décret n°72-407 du 17 mai 1972 portant création de communes dans le territoire de la Polynésie française

Légifrance Légifrance () is the official website of the French government for the publication of legislation, regulations, and legal information. It was established by decree in 2002. Access to the site is free. Virtually complete, it presents or refers to ...

Anatonu Anatonu is an associated commune on the island of Raivavae, in French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and a ...

Rairua-Mahanatoa Rairua-Mahanatoa is an associated commune on the island of Raivavae, in French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed isla ...

Vaiuru Vaiuru is an associated commune on the island of Raivavae, in French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and at ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ra'ivavae Islands of the Austral Islands Communes of French Polynesia

History

Geography

Administration

See also

References