Taʻū

Taʻū is the largest inhabited island in the Manuʻa Islands in American Samoa and the easternmost volcanic island of the Samoan Islands. In the early 19th century, the island was sometimes called ''Opoun''.

Taū is well known as the site where the American anthropologist Margaret Mead conducted her dissertation research in Samoa in the 1920s, after which she published her findings in a work titled '' Coming of Age in Samoa''. Ta’u also has the highest mountain in American Samoa, Mount Lata, as well as of National Park lands, and of waters separated by some of the tallest sea cliffs in the world.

On the western coast of Taū are the conterminous villages of Lumā and Siufaga, usually referred to jointly as Taū village. The village of Taū has been named the capital of the Manuʻa Islands. Fitiuta is another Taū village, located on the northeast side of the island.

The Valley of Giants, located in the waters southwest of Taʻū, is home to one of the world's largest and oldest coral colonies. Its most notable feature is Big Momma ("Fale Bommie"), a massive coral formation standing 6.4 meters high with a circumference of 41 meters. It is estimated to be over 530 years old. It is recognized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the largest known coral head in the world. The massive Porites coral heads at Taʻū are the largest and oldest corals of their genus on Earth.

The south coast of Taʻū Island is home to the tallest sea cliffs on Earth, which rise to a height of 3,000 feet. Visitors can walk along the coastline at the base of the cliffs.

History

In ancient times, the three islands of the Manuʻa Group existed as a unified polity. Taʻū served as the primary center of authority, hosting the Tui Manu'a paramount chieftaincy. In 1986, researchers uncovered ceramic-bearing locations in Taʻū Village, including a surface find of a Polynesian Plain Ware sherd. Subsequent test excavations revealed deeper cultural layers linked to the Ancestral Polynesian period. This evidence indicated that the prehistoric developments in the Manuʻa Islands generally align with those documented in larger and more thoroughly studied areas of Western Sāmoa.

In early 1987, a major hurricane struck the Manuʻa Islands, severely impacting Taʻū. Nearly all homes on the island were destroyed, leading to a Federal disaster declaration.

Geography

The island is the eroded remnant of a hotspot shield volcano with a caldera complex or collapse feature (Liu Bench) on the south face. The summit of the island, called Lata Mountain, is at an elevation of , making it the highest point in American Samoa. The last known volcanic eruption in the Manua Islands was in 1866, on the mid-ocean ridge that extends west-northwest towards nearby Ofu-Olosega.

The largest airport in the Manua Islands is on the northeast corner of Taū at Fitiuta. There is also a private airport. A boat harbor is located at Faleāsao at the northwestern corner of the island. A roadway along the north coast connects all of the several inhabited villages between Taū on the west and Fitiuta.

All of the southeastern half of Taū—including all of the rainforest on top of Lata Mountain and within the caldera—the southern shoreline, and associated coral reefs are part of the National Park of American Samoa. The park includes the ancient, sacred site of Saua, considered to be the birthplace of the Polynesian people.

Administratively, the island is divided into three counties: Faleāsao County, Fitiʻuta County, and Taʻū County. Along with the Ofu and Olosega Islands, Taū Island comprises the Manuʻa District of American Samoa. The land area of Taū Island is and it had a population of 873 persons as of the 2000 census and of 790 persons in the 2010 census.

In 2000, a subsea volcano from Taū Island was discovered by scientists. Rockne Volcano has formed an undersea mountain which is tall. Its peak is below the ocean surface.

In the southeastern part of the island are the 450-meter high Laufuti Falls waterfall. It is located a few kilometers southwest of Saua.

National Park

The Taʻū unit of the American Samoa National Park spans approximately 2,025 hectares (over 5,000 acres) and constitutes the largest section of the park. It contains predominantly unaltered coastal, lowland, montane, and cloud rain forests. On the island’s southern shore, Laufuti Falls descends more than 300 meters (1,000 feet) toward the ocean.

Anthropological research

Taū is where the 23-year-old anthropologist Margaret Mead conducted her dissertation research in Samoa in the 1920s, published in 1928 as ''Coming of Age in Samoa''. In her work, she studied adolescent girls and compared their experience to those of Western societies. She concluded that adolescence was a smooth transition, not marked by the emotional or psychological distress, anxiety, or confusion seen in the United States.

Electricity

Until 2016, being a small and isolated island, the island relied on costly and polluting diesel generators to supply electricity. However, with the construction of a solar array, battery storage system, and microgrid, the island's power relies almost 100% from the sun. The solar array was built by SolarCity and now includes sixty Tesla Powerpacks. The system should be a more reliable source of energy and was designed to power the entire island for three days without sunlight and fully recharge in seven hours.

References

External links

Tau Island: Faleasao, Fitiuta, and Ta'u counties, Manu'a District, United States Census Bureau

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Mountains of American Samoa
Islands of American Samoa
Volcanoes of American Samoa
Polygenetic shield volcanoes
Manu'a
Eastern Samoan Volcanic Province