coral atoll Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oce ...

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Rimatara Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is , and that of the Maria islets is . The atoll is uninhabited.

Copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

is occasionally harvested at the island. The four islands are: # Île du Sud # Île Centrale # Île de l' Ouest # Île du Nordêt The Îles Maria should not be confused with

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

Atoll in the

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

, also in French Polynesia, which is sometimes differentiated with the name "Maria Est" (East). There is also another island once known as Hull Island in the

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Kiribati, Republic ...

, which is now known as

Orona Orona atoll, also known as Hull Island, is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. It measures approximately by , and like Kanton, is a narrow ribbon of land surrounding a sizable lagoon with depths of . Numerous passages connec ...

.

History

According to Polynesian legend, the uninhabited island was discovered by Chief Ama'itera'i of

Rurutu Rūrutu is the northernmost island in the Austral archipelago of French Polynesia, and the name of a commune consisting solely of that island. It is situated south of Tahiti. Its land area is . It was made a place of exile by King

Teuruarii IV Teuruarii IV, born Epatiana a Teuruarii (8 August 1879 – ), was the last King of Rurutu, an island within the larger Austral Islands archipelago, who ruled from around 1886 until the annexation of the island to France in 1900. Proclaimed king ...

and his mother and regent Taarouru. The island was also claimed by the neighboring island kingdom of

Rimatara Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is , and that of the Maria islets is . This atoll is named for the

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

''Maria'', who sighted the island in 1824, It was captained by George Washington Gardner, a

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

(1778–1838).Dunmore, John (1992); ''Who's Who in Pacific Navigation'', Australia:Melbourne University Press, , pp114-115

Administration

The atoll Îles Maria is administratively part of

Rimatara Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is , and that of the Maria islets is .commune (municipality) in the

Tubuai (Austral Islands) Tupuai ( ) is the main island of the Austral Island group, located south of Tahiti. In addition to Tubuai, the group of islands include Rimatara, Rurutu, Raivavae, Rapa and the uninhabited Îles Maria. They are part of the Austral Islands ...

division of

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

.

References

External links

* - from OceanDots {{DEFAULTSORT:Iles Maria Islands of the Austral Islands Atolls of French Polynesia