Rapa Nui National Park

Rapa Nui National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Rano Kau crater taken from the approach to Orongo
Location	Easter Island, Chile
Nearest city	Hanga Roa
Area	71.3 km²
Established	1935
Governing body	Corporación Nacional Forestal
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type:	Cultural
Criteria:	i, iii, v
Designated:	1995 (19th session)
Reference #:	715
State Party:	Chile
Region:	Latin America and the Caribbean

Rapa Nui National Park is a World Heritage Site located on Easter Island, Chile. The park is divided into seven sections:

Rapa Nui, showing the three main volcanoes Terevaka, Poike, Rano Kau, as well as Anakena beach, the islets including Motu Nui. Modern Hanga Roa and Mataveri International Airport, the ruins at Orongo and the quarry at Rano Raraku. It marks major ahus with moai.

• Rano Kau (which includes Orongo)
• Puna Pau (named after the quarry where the pukao were carved).
• Rano Raraku (named after the quarry where most of the moai were carved).
• Anakena - Ovahe
• Ahu Akivi
• Costa Norte
• Hanga Roa (Urban Area).

History

Moai at Rano Raraku, Easter Island

The early history involves human settlement roughly one millennium before present. Subsequent human overpopulation and resultant deforestation led to collapse of the human society. Archaeological evidence of the earlier habitation consists of the moai themselves as well as the pollen and fossil records. Through these records, scientists have come to understand the role of a now extinct Rapa Nui Palm, which offered food, fuel and transport for the early settlers. Chile first declared the island a National Park in 1935, and on 22 March 1996 UNESCO designated the island a World Heritage Site. Park boundaries have since varied on several occasions, to return land to the islanders.

References

• C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
• UNESCO. 2009. Rapa Nui National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
• (Spanish) Official Site