Mehetia or Meetia is a

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure 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 fo ...

island in the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

, in the east of the

Society Islands The Society Islands ( , officially ; ) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Mo'orea, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country ...

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 ...

. It is a very young active

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

east of the Taiarapu Peninsula of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

. It belongs to the Teahitia-Mehetia

hotspot Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tr ...

. The island has an area of and its highest point is 435 metres (1,427 ft). The peak is a well-defined

volcanic crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an ...

. In 1981 the island was the centre of earthquakes.

History

Tahitian oral tradition holds that navigators stopped at Mehitia, which was regarded as sacred, on their long voyage to New Zealand. This oral history correlates with geological evidence found in southern

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

which can be traced back to Mehitia. The early Polynesian voyagers commonly gave Polynesian ancestral names and symbolism to new places. The high point of Mehetia is Mount Hiurai (Hi’ura’i/Hikurangi) The name

Hikurangi Hikurangi is a settlement in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. The city of Whangārei is to the south, and Kawakawa, New Zealand, Kawakawa is northwest. The Glenbervie Forest is southeast of the settlement. New Zealand State Highway ...

in Aotearoa / New Zealand probably came from Mehetia and the name Hi’ura’i probably has its origin in Siulagi (Siulangi) in Tau, Samoa. The first European sighting was by the Spanish expedition of

Pedro Fernández 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, meani ...

on 9 February 1606, that charted it as ''Decena'' (ten in Spanish).Corney, Bolton Granvill ''The quest and occupation of Tahiti by emissaries of Spain during the years 1772-1776'', London, 1913, Vol I, p.XXX Later on it was sighted by

Samuel Wallis Post-captain, Captain Samuel Wallis (23 April 1728 – 21 January 1795) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who made the first recorded visit by a European navigator to Tahiti. Biography Wallis was born at Fenteroon Farm, near Camelfo ...

in HMS Dolphin 1767 and

Louis Antoine de Bougainville Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (; 12 November 1729 – 31 August 1811) was a French military officer and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he served in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. B ...

in 1768. It was also sighted by Spanish navigator

Domingo de Boenechea Domingo Bernardo de Bonechea Andonaegui (21 September 1713 – 26 January 1775) was a Spanish Navy officer and explorer. He is known for having tried to incorporate Tahiti into the Spanish Empire. De Bonechea's exploratory voyages were commission ...

on November 6, 1772, on ship ''Aguila''. He named this island ''San Cristóbal''.

Administration

Mehetia is administratively part of the commune (municipality) of Taiarapu-Est and of its easternmost commune associée Tautira. The island is uninhabited and does not have much vegetation but has a small coral reef on the underwater slopes.

References

External links

Mehetia in Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program database
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub Volcanoes of French Polynesia Stratovolcanoes of France Active volcanoes Islands of the Society Islands Uninhabited islands of French Polynesia Sacred islands

History

Administration

See also

References

External links