Maewo (, in English as and formerly ''Aurora Island'') is an island in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

Penama Penama is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the northeast of the country and consisting of three major islands: * Ambae Island, Ambae (or Aoba Island, Aoba) * Maewo * Pentecost Island, Pentecost The name Penama is derived from the ...

province, 105 km to the east of

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...

. It is 47 km long, and 6 km wide, with an area of 269 km². Its highest point is 795 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. In 2009 the island had a population of almost 3,600. Maewo is covered with dense vegetation: tropical forests in which banyan trees grow.

Name

The name ''Maewo'' is thought to have come from Mota,

Raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

, or Ambae as an attempt to transcribe the pronunciation . In the local languages it is spelled as ''N̄waewo'' . Other names for the island include Mwerlap ''N̄wēw'' and

Mwotlap Mwotlap (pronounced ; formerly known as ''Motlav'') is an Oceanic language spoken by about 2,100 people in Vanuatu. The majority of speakers are found on the island of Motalava in the Banks Islands, with smaller communities in the islands of ...

''Am̄ew'' (with the locative prefix ''a-''). All of these terms are thought to have come from Proto-North-Central Vanuatu (and Proto-Torres–Banks) ''*mʷaewo''.

History

First recorded sighting of Maewo Island by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of

Pedro Fernández de Quirós Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meani ...

at the end of April 1606.Brand, Donald D. ''The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations'' The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.133. It was sighted again in 1768 by

Louis Antoine de Bougainville Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (; 12 November 1729 – 31 August 1811) was a French military officer and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he served in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. B ...

who named it ''Aurora'' from the Latin word for "dawn", the time of day at which it was sighted.

Geography

Maewo is the island with the highest

rainfall Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. ...

in Vanuatu. The island is covered in green, lush vegetation. The heavy rainfall provides abundant fresh water and waterfalls. There are also hot springs in the centre of Maewo. The largest of these waterfalls is a series of cascades located near

Maewo-Naone Airport Maewo-Naone Airport is an airport on Maewo in Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east o ...

on the north end of the island near the village of Naone. This series of cascades is commonly referred to as Big Wota (Big Water in

Bislama Bislama ( ; ; also known by its earlier French name, ) is an English-based creole language. It is the national language of Vanuatu, and one of the three official languages of the country, the other ones being English and French. Bislama is the ...

). The climate on Maevo is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall is about 3,500 mm of rain. There are two seasons in the year: the rainy season, which lasts from November to April, and the dry season, which lasts from May to October. The island is subject to frequent cyclones and earthquakes.

References

Islands of Vanuatu Penama Province {{Vanuatu-geo-stub