Last modified: 2016-06-29 by ivan sache
Keywords: raivavae | austral islands |
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Flag of Raivavae - Image by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán & Ivan Sache, 7 March 2009
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Quoting the website of the Presidency of French Polynesia (page no longer online):
This island is located at 23º53'S and 147º39'W. Raivavae is 730 kilometers (454 miles) south-southeast from the island of Tahiti.
Running from east to west, Raivavae is 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) long by 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) wide and covers an area of 16 square kilometers (6.18 sq. miles). Its highest point is Mt. Hiro, which has an altitude of 437 meters (1,434 ft.).Captain Thomas Gayangoes, a Spanish navigator, was the first European to discover Ravaivae in 1775. The island provided sandalwood for European traders who stopped here during the early 19th century. France annexed the island in 1880.
Ravaivae provided half of the entire coffee production in French Polynesia up until 1991, making it the island's major resource. The island also exports a little copra and some vegetables.
The island had a population of 1,049 after the 1996 census. The people live in one of three villages: Anatonu (pop. 287), Rairua (pop. 495) and Vaiuru (pop. 267).
Ivan Sache, 21 August 2005
The flag of Raivavae, as seen at the headquarters of the Tahitian Football Federation in 2006, is horizontally divided green-white-green with the name of the island in black capital letters in the middle.
Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, 24 December 2008