
Alofi is an uninhabited island in the
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 ...
belonging to the
French overseas collectivity (''
collectivité d'outre-mer
The French overseas collectivities ( abbreviated as COM) are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies and other French o ...
'', or ''COM'') of
Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (), is a French island territorial collectivity, collectivity in the Oceania, South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga t ...
. Data shows that Alofi was inhabited until 1840.
The highest point on the island is
Kolofau. The 3,500 ha island is separated from the larger neighbouring island of Futuna by a 1.7 km channel. Alofi has been recognised as 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 i ...
for its
red-footed booby colony
A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
and the
vulnerable shy ground dove, as well as for various restricted-range bird species (including
crimson-crowned fruit doves,
blue-crowned lorikeets,
Polynesian wattled honeyeater
The Polynesian wattled honeyeater (''Foulehaio carunculatus'') or the eastern wattled honeyeater, is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It was considered conspecific with the Fiji wattled honeyeater and the kikau.
The spe ...
s,
Polynesian trillers,
Fiji shrikebills and
Polynesian starling
The Polynesian starling (''Aplonis tabuensis'') is a species of starling of the family Sturnidae. It is found in the Samoan Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, the Santa Cruz Islands and Wallis and Futuna. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tro ...
s).
References
*Cartes institut géographique national (4902F)
Islands of Wallis and Futuna
Uninhabited islands of France
Volcanoes of the Pacific Ocean
Former populated places in Oceania
Important Bird Areas of French Polynesia
Seabird colonies
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