Maewo (; formerly ''Aurora Island'') is an island in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

Penama Penama is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the northeast of the country and consisting of three major islands: * Ambae (or Aoba) * Maewo * Pentecost The name Penama is derived from the initial letters of PENtecost, Ambae and MAew ...

province, 105 km to the east of

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

. It is 47 km long, and 6 km wide, with an area of 269 km². Its highest point is 795 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. In 2009 the island had a population of almost 3,600. Maewo is covered with dense vegetation: tropical forests in which banyan trees grow.

Name

The name ''Maewo'' is thought to have come from

Mota Mota, MOTA or variations thereof may refer to: Geography * Mota (island), Vanuatu * Mota, Ethiopia, a town * Mota, Gujarat, India, a town * Mota, Ljutomer, Slovenia, a village Music * ''M.O.T.A.'' (album), a 2005 album by Cultura Profética * "M ...

Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

as an attempt to transcribe the pronunciation . In the local languages it is spelled as ''N̄waewo'' . Other names for the island include Mwerlap ''N̄wēw'' and

Mwotlap Mwotlap (pronounced ; formerly known as ''Motlav'') is an Oceanic language spoken by about 2,100 people in Vanuatu. The majority of speakers are found on the island of Motalava in the Banks Islands, with smaller communities in the islands of Ra ...

''Am̄ew'' (with the locative prefix ''a-''). All of these terms are thought to have come from Proto-North-Central Vanuatu (and Proto-Torres–Banks) ''*mʷaewo''.

History

First recorded sighting of Maewo Island by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of

Pedro Fernández de Quirós Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

at the end of April 1606.Brand, Donald D. ''The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations'' The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.133. They charted it as ''Aurora'' (The light of dawn in Spanish).

Geography

Maewo is the island with the highest

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

in Vanuatu. The island is covered in green, lush vegetation. The heavy rainfall provides abundant fresh water and waterfalls. There are also hot springs in the centre of Maewo. The largest of these waterfalls is a series of cascades located near

Maewo-Naone Airport Maewo-Naone Airport is an airport on Maewo in Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The ...

on the north end of the island near the village of Naone. This series of cascades is commonly referred to as Big Wota. The climate on Maevo is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall is about 3,500 mm of rain. There are two seasons in the year: the rainy season, which lasts from November to April, and the dry season, which lasts from May to October. The island is subject to frequent cyclones and earthquakes.

References

Islands of Vanuatu Penama Province {{Vanuatu-geo-stub