Vot Tande is an uninhabited islet of the

Banks Islands The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and include ...

of northern

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 ...

. It is located about due north of the island of

Mota Lava Mota Lava or Motalava is an island of the Banks Islands, Banks group, in the north of Vanuatu. It forms a single coral system with the Ra Island, small island of Ra. The 2009 Vanuatu Census, 2009 census figures give a population of 1640 inhabitan ...

. The islet of Vot Tande has never been inhabited. It is host to thousands of sea birds—especially

frigatebird Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked ...

s, which have given their name to the islet. It consists of two islands. The highest point of either of the islands is 64 meters above sea level.

Geography

The island is 800 m long and 300 m wide; its area is 0.24 km². At the northern end there is a wave cut platform being exposed at low tide and extends 100 m seawards. The latitude is 13.25º S, and the longitude is 167.65º E. The island frequently has cyclones and earthquakes.

Name

The islet is known under various names, depending on which

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

language is used. In all languages of the region, the meaning is the same: “the Rock of Frigatebirds”. Its reconstructed Proto-Torres-Banks name, based on the attested names below, is *''βatu a�aⁿdai'', where *''βatu'' means "stone" and *'' a�aⁿdai'' means "frigatebird". * In Löyöp (

Ureparapara Ureparapara (also known as ''Parapara'' for short; once known as ''Bligh Island'') is the third largest island in the Banks group of northern Vanuatu, after Gaua and Vanua Lava. The climate on the island is humid tropical. The average annual r ...

), it is called ''Vot Tade'' , with prenasalised * In

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 ...

(

), it is known as ''Nevet Men Tagde'' , or under its older name ''Vet Tagde'' . * In

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 ...

, it is called ''Vat Ganai'' The spelling ''Vot Tande'' is a transcription of the Löyöp form. The variant ''Vetaoundé'', which is found on old French maps, reflects an earlier attempt at spelling the older Mwotlap form. Other misspellings for the same islet include ''Vet Tande'', ''Vot Ganai''.

References

{{Provinces and islands of Vanuatu Uninhabited islands of Vanuatu Torba Province