coral atoll Corals are marine invertebrates within the class (biology), class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important C ...

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Rimatara Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is , and that of the Maria islets is . The atoll is uninhabited now, but at one time was the site of a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

.

Copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

is occasionally harvested at the island. The four islands are: # Île du Sud # Île Centrale # Île de l' Ouest # Île du Nordêt The Îles Maria should not be confused with

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

Atoll in the

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

, also in French Polynesia, which is sometimes differentiated with the name "Maria Est" (East). There is also another island once known as Hull Island in the

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Kiribati, Republic ...

, which is now known as

Orona Orona atoll, also known as Hull Island, is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. It measures approximately by , and like Kanton, is a narrow ribbon of land surrounding a sizable lagoon with depths of . Numerous passages connec ...

.

History

According to Polynesian legend, the uninhabited island was discovered by Chief Ama'itera'i of Rurutu in ancient times. It was made a place of exile by King

Teuruarii IV Teuruarii IV, born Epatiana a Teuruarii (8 August 1879 – ), was the last King of Rurutu, an island within the larger Austral Islands archipelago, who ruled from around 1886 until the annexation of the island to France in 1900. Proclaimed king ...

and his mother and regent Taarouru. The island was also claimed by the neighboring island kingdom of

Rimatara Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is , and that of the Maria islets is . This atoll is named for the

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

''Maria'', who sighted the island in 1824, It was captained by

George Washington Gardner The Gardner family were a group of whalers operating out of Nantucket, Massachusetts, from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Some members of the family gained wider exposure due to their discovery of various islands in the Pacific Ocean. ...

, a

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

(1778-1838).Dunmore, John (1992); ''Who's Who in Pacific Navigation'', Australia:Melbourne University Press, , pp114-115

Administration

The atoll Îles Maria is administratively part of

Rimatara Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is , and that of the Maria islets is .commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

(municipality) in the

Tubuai (Austral Islands) Tubuai or Tupuai is the main island of the Austral Island group, located south of Tahiti. In addition to Tubuai, the group of islands include Rimatara, Rurutu, Raivavae, Rapa and the uninhabited Îles Maria. They are part of the Austral Isla ...

division of

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

.

References

External links

* - from OceanDots
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iles Maria Islands of the Austral Islands Atolls of French Polynesia