Rūrutu is the northernmost island in the Austral archipelago of

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

, and the name of a commune consisting solely of that island. It is situated south of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

. Its land area is .Environnement marin des îles Australes
p. 205 It is 10.8 km long and 5.3 km wide. Its highest point (Manureva) is . At the 2017 census it had a population of 2,466.Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017
Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française Geologically, Rurutu was initially formed 12 million years ago by the

Macdonald hotspot The Macdonald hotspot (also known as "Tubuai" or "Old Rurutu") is a volcanic hotspot in the southern Pacific Ocean. The hotspot was responsible for the formation of the Macdonald Seamount, and possibly the Austral-Cook Islands chain. It probably ...

, a hotspot associated with the

Macdonald seamount Macdonald seamount (named after Gordon A. Macdonald) is a seamount in Polynesia, southeast of the Austral Islands and in the neighbourhood of a system of seamounts that include the Ngatemato seamounts and the Taukina seamounts. It rises fro ...

. Over the next 10 million years, erosion shrank the island until it was almost an

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 gr ...

. Then, just over a million years ago, Rurutu passed over the

Arago hotspot Arago hotspot is a hotspot in the Pacific Ocean, presently located below the Arago seamount close to the island of Rurutu, French Polynesia. Arago is part of a family of hotspots in the southern Pacific, which include the Society hotspot and ...

, which lifted it roughly 150 meters. Steep sea cliffs of ancient coral lifted by the event — called ''makatea'' — now largely encircle the island. These are riddled with

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s filled with

concretion A concretion is a hard, compact mass of matter formed by the precipitation of mineral cement within the spaces between particles, and is found in sedimentary rock or soil. Concretions are often ovoid or spherical in shape, although irregular ...

s — indeed, Rurutu is largely unique among islands in French Polynesia in that its historic inhabitants were cave-dwelling. Because it is endowed with a

fringing reef A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reef. It is distinguished from the other main types, barrier reefs and atolls, in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone (lagoon) or none at all. If a fringing reef grows direc ...

, Rurutu has in recent years become known for

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

watching:

Humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

s come and reproduce here between July and October within easy sighting distance from the beach. Although its tiny community still subsists primarily on fishing and basic agriculture, tourism has been a growing industry, especially since

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

's visit in 1990. Whale watching season sees the bulk of tourists, but the largely untouched native culture, the white sand beaches, and the lush tropical flora draw small numbers of tourists year-round.

Administration

The commune of Rurutu consists of the island of Rurutu, and is subdivided into 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. Access to the site is free. Virtually complete, it presents or refers to all concerned institutions or administrati ...

* Avera * Hauti *

Moerai Moerai is a village on the island of Rurutu, in French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the gl ...

Notable people

* Teuruarii IV, last king of Rurutu

References

External links

*
Natural and cultural heritage of Rurutu on Tahiti Heritage with Google maps

{{authority control Islands of the Austral Islands Communes of French Polynesia

Administration

Notable people

See also

References

External links