Mitiaro, the fourth island in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

group, is of

volcanic A volcano is a rupture 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 a ...

origin. Standing in water deep it is across at its widest point.

Geography

Mitiaro, also known as Nukuroa, is part of the Nga-Pu-Toru island group formerly, a volcano that became a coral

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

. The coral died forming fossilised coral (known locally as ''makatea''). The island is surrounded by a belt of this makatea, between high and characteristic of islands in the southern group. The centre of the island is almost flat, quite

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

y and contains two freshwater lakes, Rotonui (big lake) and

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(small lake). The lakes are teeming with

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s ('' Anguilla obscura''),which the locals call itiki and who reach the lakes from the Ocean through underwater connections, and the imported tilapia from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

where it is known as bream. Beaches are limited but there are subterranean limestone caves and the beach at low tide abounds in marine life.

Important Bird Area

The island has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports populations of Rimatara lorikeets and

Cook reed warbler The Cook reed warbler (''Acrocephalus kerearako'') or Cook Islands reed warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It is native to the southeastern Cook Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry f ...

s. It is a non-breeding site for

bristle-thighed curlew The bristle-thighed curlew (''Numenius tahitiensis'') is a medium-sized shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands. It is known in Mangareva as ''kivi'' or ''kivikivi'' and in Rakahanga as ''kihi''; it is said to be ...

Settlement

The island has four villages, located close together on the western side, from north to south: #Taurangi (a former village) #Atai (also called Arai) #Auta #Mangarei # Takaue Among the populated lifted coral islands of the southern Cook Islands, only Mitiaro is not subdivided into traditional tapere.

Infrastructure

Mitiaro School Mitiaro School or Apii Tematangarengare is a co-educational school on the island of Mitiaro in the Cook Islands. It is the only school on the island and has a roll of 36 students. The school has three teachers and offers classes from Grade 1 (yea ...

is located in the principal village, Atai. Takaue is the second largest village.

Mitiaro Airport Mitiaro Airport (also known as Nukuroa Airport) is an airport on Mitiaro in the Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , ...

is located at the northern end of the island. There are three churches: the Cook Islands Christian Church, the Catholic Church and the Assembly of God. In May 2018 the island's diesel generator was replaced by a Solar Photovoltaic system.

History

According to oral tradition Mitiaro was settled from Atiu, and was historically dominated by that island. It was first discovered by Europeans when

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

of the London Missionary Society arrived in 1823. He left behind a Polynesian teacher, Taua, who began converting the islanders to Christianity. The estimated population at that time was less than 100 inhabitants. During the 1840s the island was attacked again by Atiuans. In 1888 Mitiaro became a British protectorate as part of the Cook Islands Federation. In 1901 it was annexed by

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 count ...

Sources

External links

Map of Mitiaro
{{Coord, 19, 52, S, 157, 42, W, display=title, type:isle Islands of the Cook Islands Important Bird Areas of the Cook Islands