Chatham Island ( ) (

Moriori The Moriori are the native Polynesian people of the Chatham Islands (''Rēkohu'' in Moriori; ' in Māori), New Zealand. Moriori originated from Māori settlers from the New Zealand mainland around 1500 CE. This was near the time of th ...

: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) is by far the largest island of the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about t ...

group, in the south Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. It is said to be "halfway between the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also ...

and the pole, and right on the

International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific ...

", though the point (180°, 45°S) in fact lies ca. 173 miles WSW of the island's westernmost point. The island is called ''Rekohu'' ("misty skies") in

, and ''Wharekauri'' in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

.Government of New Zealand, Dept. of Conservation (1999)
Chatham IslandsConservation Management Strategy
''. Retrieved 13 July 2012. The island was named after the

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pur ...

HMS ''Chatham'' which was the first European ship to locate the island in 1791. It covers an area of . Chatham Island lies south-east of

Cape Turnagain Cape Turnagain is a prominent headland on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, part way between Hawke Bay and Cook Strait, between the mouths of the Porangahau and Ākitio Rivers. The cape was named by Captain James Cook in 1769. On ...

, the nearest point of mainland New Zealand to the island.

Geography

The geography of the roughly T-shaped island is dominated by three features: two bays and a lagoon. More than half of the west coast of Chatham is taken up by the deep indentation of Petre Bay. The island's main settlement of Waitangi is located in a small indentation in Petre Bay's southern coast. Other significant settlements are Kaingaroa on the northeast promontory, and

Owenga Owenga is a small settlement on Chatham Island, in New Zealand's Chatham Islands group. It is the second easternmost settlement in New Zealand, after Flower Pot Bay on Pitt Island Pitt Island is the second largest island in the Chatham Arc ...

on the south side of Hanson Bay. On the east coast is the even larger Hanson Bay, which stretches for the entire length of the island (). Much of the area between the bays is taken up by the large

Te Whanga Lagoon Te Whanga Lagoon dominates the geography of Chatham Island, in the South Pacific Ocean off New Zealand's east coast. It covers . It is the outflow of several small rivers in the island's hilly south, and drains to the Pacific via gaps in Hans ...

, which drains to the sea to the east, into the southern half of Hanson Bay. This lagoon covers about , and drains several small rivers that rise in the hills at the south end of the island. The next largest lakes are Rangitahi and Huro, respectively northeast and southwest of Te Whanga.
Chatham Island
', NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 14 July 2012. The central and north part of Chatham Island are mostly flat, with altitudes ranging from a few metres on the northeast and centre to 50 m on the northwest, but with a few scattered hillocks. The south part is higher, generally sloping down towards north and west; about half of it is over 150 m above sea level. The south coast of the island is mostly cliffs 100 m high or more. The highest point of the island (299 m) lies close to its southernmost point.

Flora and fauna

Chatham Island hosts the only known breeding populations of the endemic and critically endangered Magenta petrel.

In popular culture

Chatham Island (or "Isle") is featured in the first and in the final chapter of '' Cloud Atlas'', the 2004 novel by David Mitchell. The novel was adapted for screen in 2012.

References

{{Chatham Islands Islands of the Chatham Islands

Geography

Flora and fauna

In popular culture

See also

References