Mehetiʻa
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 17°52′S 148°04′W / 17.867°S 148.067°W |
| Archipelago | Society Islands |
| Area | 2.3 km2 (0.89 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 435 m (1427 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
| Mont Fareura | |
|---|---|
 NASA Geocover 2000 image | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 435 m (1,427 ft) |
| Prominence | 435 m (1,427 ft) |
| Coordinates | 17°52′S 148°4′W / 17.867°S 148.067°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Society Islands |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | Unknown |
Meheti'a or Me'eti'a is a volcanic island in the Windward Islands, in the east of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. This island is a very young active stratovolcano 110 kilometres (68 mi) east of the Taiarapu Peninsula of Tahiti. It belongs to the Teahiti'a-Mehetia hotspot.
The island has an area of 2.3 square kilometres (0.89 sq mi) and its highest point is 435 metres (1,427 ft). Meheti'a's well-defined volcanic crater contains a very active hot point. In 1981 the island was the centre of earthquakes.
History
The first European sighting was by the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 9 February 1606, that charted it as Decena (ten in Spanish).[1] Later on it was sighted by Samuel Wallis in HMS Dolphin 1767 and Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1768.[2] It was also sighted by Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea on November 6, 1772 on ship Aguila.[2]: 241 He named this island San Cristóbal.
Administration
Meheti'a is administratively part of the commune (municipality) of Taiarapu-Est and of its easternmost commune associée Tautira. The island is uninhabited and doesn't have much vegetation but has a small coral reef on the underwater slopes.
See also
References
- ^ Corney, Bolton Granvill The quest and occupation of Tahiti by emissaries of Spain during the years 1772-1776, London, 1913, Vol I, p.XXX
- ^ a b Salmond, Anne (2010). Aphrodite's Island. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 39, 45, 93. ISBN 9780520261143.
External links
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