Kermadec Islands

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Kermadec Islands

Rangitāhua

Geography

29°16′37″S 177°55′24″WCoordinates:  29°16′37″S 177°55′24″
Coordinates
W
 Total islands around 16

Area 33.6 km2 (13.0 sq mi)

Highest elevation 516 m (1,693 ft)

Administration

New Zealand

Demographics

Population None

Raoul Island from space

The Kermadec Islands /kərˈmædɛk/ (Māori: Rangitāhua ) are a subtropical island

[1]

arc in the South Pacific Ocean 800–1,000 km (500–620 mi) northeast of New

Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part
of New Zealand, 33.6 km  (13.0 sq mi)  in total area and uninhabited, except for the
2 [2]

permanently manned Raoul Island Station, the northernmost outpost of New Zealand.

The islands are listed with the New Zealand Outlying Islands. The islands are an
immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any region or district, but instead
an Area Outside Territorial Authority.

Contents

 1Toponymy
 2History
o 2.1Raoul Island Station
o 2.2Nuclear testing proposals
 3Geography
o 3.1Climate
o 3.2Islands
o 3.3Geology
 4Environment
o 4.1Flora
o 4.2Fauna
o 4.3Conservation
 5References
 6External links

Toponymy[edit]
The islands were named after the Breton captain Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec, who
visited the islands as part of the d'Entrecasteaux expedition in the 1790s. The
topographic particle "Kermadec" is of Breton origin and is a lieu-
dit in Pencran in Finistère where ker means village, residence and madec a proper
name derived from mad good with the suffix -ec, used to form adjectives indicating a
property.
The Māori name is Rangitāhua which is also used for Raoul island.

History[edit]
Polynesian people settled the Kermadec Islands in around the 14th century (and
perhaps previously in the 10th century),  but the first Europeans to reach the area—
[3]

the Lady Penrhyn in May 1788—found no inhabitants.

British, American and Australian whaling vessels cruised offshore in the 19th century
and often visited the islands in search of water, wood and food. The first such vessel on
record was the whaler Fanny that visited Raoul Island in 1823.  European settlers,
[4]

initially the Bell family, lived on the islands from the early nineteenth century, growing
food for the whalers, and remained until 1937. One of the Bell daughters, Bessie Dyke,
recounted the family's experience to writer Elsie K. Morton who published their story in
1957 as, Crusoes of Sunday Island. [5]

Raoul Island Station[edit]

The Station consists of a government meteorological and radio station, and a hostel
for Department of Conservation officers and volunteers, that has been maintained since
1937. It lies on the northern terraces of Raoul Island, at an elevation of about 50 m
(160 ft), above the cliffs of Fleetwood Bluff. It is the northernmost inhabited outpost of
New Zealand.
Nuclear testing proposals[edit]
In 1955 the British Government required a large site remote from population centres to
test the new thermonuclear devices it was developing. Various islands in the South
Pacific and Southern Oceans were considered, along with Antarctica. The Admiralty
suggested the Antipodes Islands.  In May 1955, the Minister for Defence, Selwyn Lloyd,
[6]

concluded that the Kermadec Islands would be suitable. They were part of New
Zealand, so Eden wrote to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sidney Holland, to ask
for permission to use the islands. Holland refused, fearing an adverse public reaction in
the upcoming 1957 general election in New Zealand. Despite reassurances and
pressure from the British government, Holland remained firm. [7]
Geography[edit]
The islands lie within 29° to 31.5° south latitude and 178° to 179° west longitude, 800–
1,000 km (500–620 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance
southwest of Tonga. The total area of the islands is 33.6 km  (12.97 sq mi).
2

Climate[edit]
The climate of the islands is subtropical, with a mean monthly temperature of 22.4 °C
(72.3 °F) in February and 16.0 °C (60.8 °F) in August. Rainfall is approximately
1,500 mm (60 in) annually, with lower rainfall from October through January.
Islands[edit]

View from Raoul Island

The group includes four main islands as well as some isolated rocks. These are:

 Raoul Island or Sunday Island is by far the largest of the islands. It lies 900 km (560 mi)
south-southwest of 'Ata, the southernmost island of Tonga, and 1,100 km (680 mi) north-
northeast of New Zealand. Raoul Island has an area of 29.38 km  (11.34 sq mi) with
2

numerous smaller satellite islands; its highest point, Moumoukai peak, is 516 m (1,693 ft)
high
 Macauley Island, the second largest, is located 110 km (68 mi) south-southwest of Raoul
Island. Together with neighbouring Haszard Island, its area is 3.06 km  (1.18 sq mi).
2

o Macdonald Rock is about 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Macauley Island. [8]

 Curtis Island, the third largest, lies 35 km (22 mi) south-southwest of Macauley Island. It
reaches a height of 137 m (449 ft) and has an area of 0.59 km  (0.23 sq mi) with
2

neighbouring Cheeseman Island.
 Nugent Island is the northernmost island. It is approximately 100 metres (109 yd) across.
 L'Esperance Rock, formerly French Rock, is 80 km (50 mi) south-southwest of Curtis
Island. It is 250 m (820 ft) in diameter, 0.05 km  (0.019 sq mi) in area, and 70 m (230 ft)
2

high.
 L'Havre Rock, about 8 km (5.0 mi) north-northwest of L'Esperance Rock, is submerged
except at low tide.
Seamounts north and south of the Kermadec Islands are an extension of the ridge
running from Tonga to New Zealand (see Geology). Star of Bengal Bank, 103 km
(64 mi) south-southwest of L'Esperance Rock, has a least depth of 48 metres (157 ft)
Geology[edit]

Bathymetry of the Kermadec volcanic island arc and surrounding areas

The Kermadec scalyfin – part of the rich marine biota of the Kermadecs

The islands are a volcanic island arc, formed at the convergent boundary where

the Pacific Plate subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate. The subducting Pacific Plate
created the Kermadec Trench, an 8 km deep submarine trench, to the east of the
islands. The islands lie along the undersea Kermadec Ridge, which runs southwest
from the islands towards the North Island of New Zealand and northeast
towards Tonga (Kermadec-Tonga Arc).
The four main islands are the peaks of volcanoes that rise high enough from the seabed
to project above sea level. There are several other volcanoes in the chain that do not
reach sea level, but form seamounts with between 65 and 1500 m of water above their
peaks. Monowai Seamount, with a depth of 120 m over its peak, is midway between
Raoul Island and Tonga. 100 km south of L'Esperance Rock is the little-explored Star of
Bengal Bank, probably with submarine volcanoes.