Ratua, Vanuatu

	Ratua, Vanuatu Ratua, situated in the Vanuatu archipelago, is a island located south of Espiritu Santo, between Aore and Malo islands. History In the early 1900s, during the Anglo- French condominium colony, when the Vanuatu archipelago was originally named New Hebrides until its independence in 1980, the island of Ratua was an uninhabited French coconut plantation where copra was produced. Geography The island is a rich sanctuary of flora and fauna, from active volcanoes, waterfalls, caves, reefs inhabited by sea tortoises and bright coral reefs, it is still covered by a plethora of flamboyant coconut and fruit trees. Resort In 2005, the island of Ratua became the property of a French nature lover who established a private resort which encapsulates the patrimonial association of nature preservation. The resort has adopted an "eco-friendly" philosophy, offering dynamic natural resources as well as employing local inhabitants of the island An island or isle is a piece of land, distin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	List Of Islands Of Vanuatu This is a list of islands of Vanuatu by provinces of Vanuatu, province, largely from north to south, subdivided by archipelago when appropriate. Vanuatu is usually said to contain 83 islands. Islands Torba Province Torres Islands Hiw (island), Hiw Metoma (uninhabited, but formerly inhabited) Tegua Ngwel (uninhabited) Linua Lo (island), Lo Toga (island), Toga Banks Islands *Vet Tagde Ureparapara Rowa Islands (Reef Islands) Enwut (uninhabited) Lomeur Vanua Lava *Kwakea Leneu Nawila Ravenga Gaua (Santa Maria Island) Mota (island), Mota Mota Lava (Saddle) *Ra Island Merig *Mere Lava Sanma Province Espiritu Santo Dany Island Araki (island) Elephant Island (Vanuatu), Elephant Island Thion (Vanuatu), Dolphin Island Sakao (Sanma, Vanuatu), Sakao Malohu Malparavu Maltinerava Malvapevu Malwepe Oyster Island (Vanuatu), Oyster Island Tangoa Island, Tangoa Bokissa Lataro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:** [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora as in the terms ''gut flora'' or ''skin flora'' for purposes of specificity. Etymology The word "flora" comes from the Latin name of Flora (mythology), Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, and fertility in Roman mythology. The technical term "flora" is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century. It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area, but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation. Moreover, "Flora" was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century. The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Islands Of Vanuatu This is a list of islands of Vanuatu by provinces of Vanuatu, province, largely from north to south, subdivided by archipelago when appropriate. Vanuatu is usually said to contain 83 islands. Islands Torba Province Torres Islands Hiw (island), Hiw Metoma (uninhabited, but formerly inhabited) Tegua Ngwel (uninhabited) Linua Lo (island), Lo Toga (island), Toga Banks Islands *Vet Tagde Ureparapara Rowa Islands (Reef Islands) Enwut (uninhabited) Lomeur Vanua Lava *Kwakea Leneu Nawila Ravenga Gaua (Santa Maria Island) Mota (island), Mota Mota Lava (Saddle) *Ra Island Merig *Mere Lava Sanma Province Espiritu Santo Dany Island Araki (island) Elephant Island (Vanuatu), Elephant Island Thion (Vanuatu), Dolphin Island Sakao (Sanma, Vanuatu), Sakao Malohu Malparavu Maltinerava Malvapevu Malwepe Oyster Island (Vanuatu), Oyster Island Tangoa Island, Tangoa Bokissa Lataro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:** [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	French People French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common Culture of France, French culture, History of France, history, and French language, language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from northern and central France, are primarily descended from Roman people, Romans (or Gallo-Romans, western European Celts, Celtic and Italic peoples), Gauls (including the Belgae), as well as Germanic peoples such as the Franks, the Visigoths, the Suebi and the Burgundians who settled in Gaul from east of the Rhine after the fall of the Roman Empire, as well as various later waves of lower-level irregular migration that have continued to the present day. The Norsemen also settled in Normandy in the 10th century and contributed significantly to the ancestry of the Normans. Furthermore, regional ethnic minorities also exist within France that have distinct lineages, languages and cultures such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe, not a Nut (fruit), nut. Originally native to Central Indo-Pacific, they are now ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are a cultural icon of the tropics. The coconut tree provides food, fuel, cosmetics, folk medicine and building materials, among many other uses. The inner flesh of the mature seed, as well as the coconut milk extracted from it, forms a regular part of the diets of many people in the tropics and subtropics. Coconuts are distinct from other fruits because their endosperm contains a large quantity of an almost clear liquid, called "coconut water" or "coconut juice". Mature, ripe coconuts can be used as edible seeds, or processed for Coconut oil, oil and Coconut milk, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Coral Reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and jellyfish. Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons that support and protect the coral. Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated water. Coral reefs first appeared 485 million years ago, at the dawn of the Early Ordovician, displacing the microbial and sponge reefs of the Cambrian. Sometimes called ''rainforests of the sea'', shallow coral reefs form some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems. They occupy less than 0.1% of the world's ocean area, about half the area of France, yet they provide a home for at least 25% of all marine species, including fish, mollusks, worms, crustaceans, echinoderms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Sea Tortoises Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and olive ridley. Six of the seven sea turtle species, all but the flatback, are present in U.S. waters, and are listed as endangered and/or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. They are listed as threatened with extinction globally on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The flatback turtle is found only in the waters of Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. Sea turtles can be categorized as hard-shelled ( cheloniid) or leathery-shelled ( dermochelyid).Wyneken, J. 2001. The Anatomy of Sea Turtles. U.S Department of Commerce NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-470, 1-172 pp. The only dermochelyid species of sea turtle is the leatherback. Description For each of the seven species of sea turtles, fem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave erosion planning down rock outcrops. However, reefs such as the coral reefs of tropical waters are formed by biotic (living) processes, dominated by corals and coralline algae. Artificial reefs, such as shipwrecks and other man-made underwater structures, may occur intentionally or as the result of an accident. These are sometimes designed to increase the physical complexity of featureless sand bottoms to attract a more diverse range of organisms. They provide shelter to various aquatic animals which help prevent extinction. Another reason reefs are put in place is for aquaculture, and fish farmers who are looking to improve their businesses sometimes invest in them. Reefs are often quite near to the surface, but not all definitions require t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Caves Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock shelters). Caves which extend further underground than the opening is wide are called endogene caves. Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves and the cave environment. Visiting or exploring caves for recreation may be called ''caving'', ''potholing'', or ''spelunking''. Formation types The formation and development of caves is known as '' speleogenesis''; it can occur over the course of millions of years. Caves can range widely in size, and are formed by various geological processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion by water, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure, and atmospheric influences. Isotopic dating techniques can be applied to cave sediments, to determine the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Waterfalls A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ways, but the most common method of formation is that a river courses over a top layer of resistant bedrock before falling onto softer rock, which Erosion, erodes faster, leading to an increasingly high fall. Waterfalls have been studied for their impact on species living in and around them. Humans have had a distinct relationship with waterfalls since prehistory, travelling to see them, exploring and naming them. They can present head of navigation, formidable barriers to navigation along rivers. Waterfalls are religious sites in many cultures. Since the 18th century, they have received increased attention as tourist destinations, sources of hydropower, andparticularly since the mid-20th centuryas subjects of research. Definition and te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and because most of Earth's plate boundaries are underwater, most volcanoes are found underwater. For example, a mid-ocean ridge, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates whereas the Pacific Ring of Fire has volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates. Volcanoes resulting from divergent tectonic activity are usually non-explosive whereas those resulting from convergent tectonic activity cause violent eruptions."Mid-ocean ridge tectonics, volcanism and geomorphology." Geology 26, no. 455 (2001): 458. https://macdonald.faculty.geol.ucsb.edu/papers/Macdonald%20Mid-Ocean%20Ridge%20Tectonics.pdf Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoologists and paleontologists use ''fauna'' to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the " Sonoran Desert fauna" or the " Burgess Shale fauna". Paleontologists sometimes refer to a sequence of faunal stages, which is a series of rocks all containing similar fossils. The study of animals of a particular region is called faunistics. Etymology ''Fauna'' comes from the name Fauna, a Roman goddess of earth and fertility, the Roman god Faunus, and the related forest spirits called Fauns. All three words are cognates of the name of the Greek god Pan, and ''panis'' is the Modern Greek equivalent of fauna (πανίς or rather πανίδα). ''Fauna'' is also the word fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]