Vatoa
Encyclopedia
Vatoa (known as Turtle Island after Cook's visit) is an outlier of Fiji's
Lau Group
.
Vatoa was the only island of present-day Fiji visited by James Cook
. The island was sighted on 2 July 1774. Next day, Sunday July 3, the Master and some of Cook's crew went ashore, "thinking to speak with the people not more than 20 in number who were Arm'd with Clubs and Spears, but the moment he set foot on Shore they retired, he left ashore some Medals, Nails and a Knife ..... Near the Reef were seen several Turtle which occasioned my giving that name to the Isle." Cook's chart shows the name Turtle Isle.
Vatoa has varied rainfall and is usually cool because of trade winds.
The island has an area of 4.45 km² and rises to more than 50 m above sea level. It is composed wholly of limestone
(Koroqara Limestone, Tokalau Limestone Group), probably Late Miocene
in age. There is one village, with population around 300. Interesting old fortifications occupy the highest part of the island.
A noted son of Vatoa is Director of Immigration Mr Viliame Naupoto who once serves as Deputy Commander of the Fiji Naval Forces.
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
Lau Group
Lau Islands
The Lau Islands of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about one hundred islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited...
.
Vatoa was the only island of present-day Fiji visited by James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
. The island was sighted on 2 July 1774. Next day, Sunday July 3, the Master and some of Cook's crew went ashore, "thinking to speak with the people not more than 20 in number who were Arm'd with Clubs and Spears, but the moment he set foot on Shore they retired, he left ashore some Medals, Nails and a Knife ..... Near the Reef were seen several Turtle which occasioned my giving that name to the Isle." Cook's chart shows the name Turtle Isle.
Vatoa has varied rainfall and is usually cool because of trade winds.
The island has an area of 4.45 km² and rises to more than 50 m above sea level. It is composed wholly of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
(Koroqara Limestone, Tokalau Limestone Group), probably Late Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
in age. There is one village, with population around 300. Interesting old fortifications occupy the highest part of the island.
A noted son of Vatoa is Director of Immigration Mr Viliame Naupoto who once serves as Deputy Commander of the Fiji Naval Forces.