Vatu Vara Island is a Fijian island in the northwest sector of the Lau Group of islands. The island is in diameter at the base of its summit and is also referred to as "Hat Island" due to the summit's shape. The

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cliffs, some in height, of the

guyot In marine geology, a guyot (), also called a tablemount, is an isolated underwater volcanic mountain (seamount) with a flat top more than below the surface of the sea. The diameters of these flat summits can exceed . Guyots are most commonly fo ...

and the rest of the island are covered in dense tropical jungle.

Geography

Vatu Vara is located west of Mago Island and some south-west of

Vanua Balavu Vanua Balavu (pronounced ) is the third largest island in Fiji's Lau archipelago, and the main island of the Northern Lau Group. Geography and infrastructure This coral and volcanic island has a land area of . Its maximum elevation is . The isl ...

at Lat: 17° 26'00 S Long: 179° 31'00 W. The volcanic and limestone island is nearly in diameter at its base. Its summit, the highest in Lau, is a massive truncated pyramid bounded on all sides by almost perpendicular cliffs up to in height. The crest of the pyramid is some in extent, and is generally flat, although pitted with holes and depressions from deep, some of them filled with water. At its base there is in most places a wide belt of gently sloping land, standing not more than

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, and forming the brim of the hat suggesting the island's profile. On the northern and eastern edges of the island the sea breaks against the limestone cliffs, which are deeply undercut; but elsewhere the island is circled by a broad fringing reef, which, off the western coast swings sharply away from the shore to enclose the lagoon. The precipitous sides of the central mass are scored by three shallow terraces, marking pauses in the uplift of the island; but these are not readily observed, being smothered under the dense vegetation that clothes the whole towering structure. The island is a former

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

, specifically called a “Guyot”. This is an extinct volcano that has become overgrown by coral reefs to form an atoll. The flat top was once at sea level, hence the flat summit. Its distinctive size and hat-like shape is recognizable from over away, including from nearby islands such as Kaibu, Yacata, and

. The island is privately owned by James Jannard.

Vakatawa kei Vatuvara (Guardian of Vatuvara)

The traditional mythical guardian of Vatu Vara is a sea goddess (or nymph) named Sakulawe. In Yadrana, Lakeba, the Turaga Vaka family have one of their elderly matriarch named after Sakulawe, as a token of respect to one of their late blood relatives and a chief of Vuna: Ratu Masiwini; Masiwini is the great-grandfather of current Fiji National Provident Fund CEO Aisake Taito, married to the daughter of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

References

{{Authority control Uninhabited islands of Fiji Lau Islands Private islands of Fiji

Geography

Vakatawa kei Vatuvara (Guardian of Vatuvara)

See also

References