Uturoa is a commune located in

Raiatea Raiatea or Ra'iatea ( Tahitian: ''Ra‘iātea'') is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the "centre" of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the ...

, the largest island of the Îles Sous le Vent (

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

) in

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 ...

. It is situated in between the

administrative subdivision Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

and the main port of the island of Raiatea. According to the 2017 census, Uturoa has a population of 3,778 individuals.Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017
Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française The commune spans approximately 120 miles (193.121 km) northwest of

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...

, the capital of French Polynesia.

History

The first settlers of Uturoa were early

Polynesians Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...

that came from Southeast Asia. They built simple shelters using grass and tree branches. Their diet consisted mostly of fish, wild animals, wild tubers,

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

, and wild fruits. The first European to visit Uturoa was the Portuguese navigator

Pedro Fernandez 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 " ...

in 1606. Quirós referred to the island as ''The Fugitive'' in his maps. In the 18th century, the famed British explorer Captain James Cook visited Uturoa during his attempt to map the

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 ...

. Later on,

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

visited Uturoa, while also exploring the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

. The forces of

Queen Mamea Queen Mamea (before – after 1896) was the name given to a ruler of Raiatea and Huahine in the Society Islands by English speaking European and American newspapers during the annexation of the Leeward Islands. According to erroneous newspa ...

raided Uturoa in 1896, in retaliation for the French annexation of her kingdom, and killed several traders.

Don the Beachcomber Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

also lived in Uturoa for many years before it was raided.

Government

The current mayor of Uturoa is Sylviane Terooatea was re-elected for a second term in 2014 with a mandate until 2020. Preceding the current mayor was Fillippe Brotherson, who served for 39 years.

Geography

Uturoa is located approximately 209 miles (336 km) from Teahupo'o, a district in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, and is located close to a reef break. It is the northernmost point on the island of Raiatea and features the views of Bora Bora, Taha'a, and Huahine. The commune is approximately 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 ...

. The mountains of Uturoa from coastal ranges, as they are not located very far inland. Uturoa is situated between the small pass of Taha'a and the forest-covered mountains of

. Mount Tapioi, 294 meters high, is one of the best vantage points to observe the lagoon and the neighbouring islands. Certain beaches of Uturoa contain

black sand Black sand is sand that is black in color. One type of black sand is a heavy, glossy, partly magnetic mixture of usually fine sands containing minerals such as magnetite, found as part of a placer deposit. Another type of black sand, found on b ...

, partially due to past volcanic eruptions. Uturoa shares the island of Raiatea with the communes

Taputapuatea Taputapuatea is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Taputapuatea is located on the island of Raiatea, in the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands, themselves part of the ...

to the southeast and

Tumaraa Tumaraa is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Tumaraa is located on the island of Raiatea, in the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands, themselves part of the Society ...

to the south. The nearest other islands are Huahine, located about 31 miles (50 km) east from Raiatea, and are home to the large community of Fare and

Tahaa Taha’a (sometimes spelled as "Tahaa") is an island located among the western group, the Leeward Islands, of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The islands of Taha’a and neighboring R ...

, which sits just across the strait to the north. The main island of Bora Bora (Anau) can be seen from Uturoa.

Weather

The climate of Uturoa is mild and rainy, with temperatures usually ranging between throughout the year. During the rainy season (November–May), it rains an average of 17 days per month. Humidity levels hover around 80% and remain consistent throughout the year, with the sun shining an average of 200 hours a month. August is typically the driest month and December–January is the wettest months.

Transportation Facilities

Airport

Raiatea Airport Raiatea Airport (also known as Uturoa Airport) is an airport on Raiatea, French Polynesia. It is in the village of Uturoa. The airport was inaugurated in 1962, but did not see service in 1964. A backfilling was built on the north part of the isla ...

(IATA code RFP, ICAO code NTTR) is a single-runway airport located in the east of Uturoa serviced by Air Tahiti. There are 157 flights on 5 different routes, connecting Raiatea Airport to the nearby islands of Papeete, Huahine, Bora Bora, Maupiti, and Moorea. The airport's runway was constructed from concrete, and it ends at Uturoa's eastern edge.

Harbor

Ferries from Raiatea sail to

in the north,

Vaitape Vaitape is the largest city of Bora Bora Island in French Polynesia. It has a population of 4,927, about half of the island's population which is about 9,000. It is located about northwest of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. The main ...

/ Bora Bora in the northwest, and

in the southeast. The harbour's size is limited by a short coastline.

Recreation

There are many parks located near the Uturoa harbour, with the closest one being the Uturoa Coastal Park. The parks in the mountains close to Uturoa provide beautiful views of both the harbour and the city. School parks are also found throughout Raiatea. They usually have wide-open spaces. The local town market of Uturoa opens daily at sunrise. This market offers a selection of souvenirs, fresh seafood, and other produce. Uturoa is also an important centre for yacht chartering bases, with the closest one being the Uturoa Coastal Park. The parks in the mountains close to Uturoa provide beautiful views of both the harbour and the city. School parks are also found throughout Raiatea. They usually have wide-open spaces. The local town market of Uturoa opens daily at sunrise. This market offers a selection of souvenirs, fresh seafood, and other produce. Uturoa is also an important center for yacht chartering bases.

Sports

Popular sports in Uturoa include

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

. Tourists have made watersports extremely popular in the area, with numerous examples such as

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

jet-skiing A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

, snorkelling,

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

, and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

Marine ecology

Uturoa is rich in flora and fauna. They have a rare species of frog only found on the outer coasts. This species is called the bungle birds cargo bleet yellow nosed frog. Tourists are very fond of stingrays (or "fevers," as they are called locally) and baby sharks — both of which can be seen while snorkelling and are a source of joy for divers.

References

External links

Harbor master website
* {{authority control Communes of French Polynesia