Hunter Island and Matthew Island are two small and uninhabited

high island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

s in the South Pacific, located east of New Caledonia and south-east of

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 ...

archipelago. Hunter Island and Matthew Island, apart, are claimed by Vanuatu as part of

Tafea Province Tafea is the southernmost of the six provinces of Vanuatu. The name is an acronym for the five main islands that make up the province: Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango and Aniwa. History Unlike the other provinces of Vanuatu, the territoria ...

, and considered by the people of Aneityum part of their custom ownership, and were claimed by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

as part of New Caledonia. Small, arid, without fresh water and not easily accessible, the islands had no interest for Britain or France during their colonisation of the Pacific in the course of the 18th and 19th centuries. France officially annexed both islands in 1929. In 1965, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

also claimed the two islands, as part of the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

. France conducted a symbolic occupation in 1975. In 1980, on its independence, Vanuatu claimed sovereignty, but made no occupation of the islands. In 1979, Météo-France set up an automatic weather station on one of the islands, and the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

regularly visits both of them.

Hunter Island

Hunter Island (french: île Hunter) is also known as Fern or Fearn Island. The first recorded sighting of the island was by Captain Thomas Fearn from his trading ship ''Hunter'' in 1798. It lies east of Matthew Island at . About in area, the island has a domed shape, and is high. It is composed of

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...

– dactic lavas and numerous explosion craters dot the volcano. A cone makes up the south part of the island, with its central crater filled by a lava dome. A -deep crater is located on the north-west side of the island. Fumarolic and

solfataric A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

activity continues in the north of the island, as well as on the northeast and southeast coasts. Two small eruptions took place in the mid-1800s. In 1835, a lava flow erupted and on 15 March 1841, an explosive eruption took place. In 1895, lava was seen flowing from two craters on the east side of the island. A small (VEI 0) fissure eruption took place in 1903, on the northern side of the island, and produced lava. Hunter Island is symbolically claimed by a

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...

, the Federal Republic of Lostisland.

Seismicity

The islands are prone to earthquakes, as they are situated near the southern arc of the South New Hebrides Trench, where the minor New Hebrides Plate is

subducted Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...

by the

Indo-Australian Plate The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and the surrounding ocean and extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and the adjacent waters. It was formed by the fusion of the Indian an ...

. In February 2021, a 7.7 quake was centered in the vicinity of Matthew and Hunter.

Important Bird Area

The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding population of red-tailed tropicbirds, with some 100–200 pairs estimated in 2007.

Matthew Island

Matthew Island (french: île Matthew) is in area, with a high stratovolcano located at . The volcanic island is composed of two andesitic-to-dactic volcanic cones, East Matthew and West Matthew, separated by a rocky 200-metre-wide isthmus. The island was discovered by Captain Thomas Gilbert, of , on 27 May 1788, who named it after the owner of his ship. At the time of the discovery, only East Matthew existed and it was described as having only one peak prior to the Second World War. East Matthew is the older part of the island, formed from

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

with a half-destroyed, 142-m-high composite volcanic cone that is thought to be composed of three lava flows. There is still some volcanic activity on the island with sulphuric

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

s rising from craters in the south-east. West Matthew formed in the late 1940s and may have had eruptions as recent as 1976. It is a roughly circular, -high cone with a serrated peak and is composed almost entirely of lava flows and slag. It contains a crater that is breached to the northwest. A lava flow from West Matthew makes up the northwest coast of the island.

Eruptions

All known historical eruptions have come from West Matthew. After a highly seismically active period in the 1940s, construction of West Matthew began as submarine eruptions built up a new island. The new cone then emitted lava flows. The eruption was a VEI 2. Another VEI 2 eruption from West Matthew took place in October 1954, while a very small (VEI 0) fissure eruption occurred in approximately 1956. This marks the latest confirmed activity on Matthew Island, although tremors took place near the island in 2008, 2009 and 2011. Uncertainty surrounds a report of an eruption in 1828, as well as reports of eruptions in 1966 and 1976.

Important Bird Area

The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding populations of

brown boobies The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...

and blue noddies.

References

Bibliography

* Dunmore, John: ''Who's who in Pacific navigation'', Honolulu: Univ. of Hawaii Pr., 1991 * Sharp, Andrew: ''The discovery of the Pacific Islands'', Oxford 1960 * *

External links

* Wolfgang Schippke: Île Metthew & Île Hunte
(German)
{{Authority control Disputed islands of Oceania Disputed islands Volcanoes of the Pacific Ocean Territorial disputes of France Borders of New Caledonia Uninhabited islands of New Caledonia Important Bird Areas of New Caledonia Seabird colonies Uninhabited islands of Vanuatu Volcanoes of Vanuatu Territorial disputes of Vanuatu

Hunter Island

Seismicity

Important Bird Area

Matthew Island

Eruptions

Important Bird Area

See also

References

Bibliography

External links