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Air Tahiti Magazine 51
baie de avera rurutu, le «rocher qui jaillit» situee a un peu plus de 500 km au sud-ouest de tahiti, rurutu appartient a l archipel des australes. sa particularite releve de sa structure geologique. elle appartient aux iles volcano-karstiques de type makatea, du nom d une autre ile de polynesie francaise qui a connu le meme phenomene. devenue presque un atoll, cette ile a ete soulevee d environ 100 metres au-dessus du niveau de la mer lors d un passage sous une deformation de la lithosphere, il y a 1,5 million d annees. aujourd hui, les hautes falaises sont en fait l ancien recif souleve. elles presentent de nombreuses grottes calcaires. le recif frangeant sur la majeure partie de l ile, laisse la place a de petits lagons sur les cotes ouest et sud. au centre de l ile, les monts taatioe (289 m) et manureva (385 m) dominent les 34 km2 de terres emergees. entre les deux, les plaines cotieres offrent de nombreuses zones humides qui ont permis le developpement de la culture du taro. ile proche du tropique du capricorne, son climat y est plus doux et tempere que dans le reste de la polynesie francaise et est propice a l agriculture maraichere, principale source d economie pour les 2 189 habitants reunis autour de trois villages : moerai, avera et auti. rurutu, the thrusting rock located a little more than 500 kilometers south-west of tahiti, rurutu belongs to the austral archipelago. the island has a particular geological structure . it is a karstic, volcanic island of the makatea type, from the name of another french polynesian island where the same phenomenon occurred. after having almost become an atoll, this island was lifted about 100 meters above sea level during a tectonic movement of the lithosphere the crust and upper mantle of the earth - 1.5 million years ago. the high cliffs of today are, in fact, the uplifted former reef. they show many chalky caves. the reef, close to the shore around most of the island, forms small lagoons on the west and south coasts. at the island s center, mount taatioe (289m) and mount manureva (385m) command the 34 square kilometers of land. between the two mountains, coastal plains form many wet zones that have encouraged the culture of taro. close to the tropic of capricorn, the island s climate is milder and more temperate than in the rest of french polynesia and favorable to garden farming, the main source of income for the 2189 inhabitants grouped around three villages : moerai, avera and auti. 12 r e v u e d e b o r d n ° 5 1 / a i r ta h i t i / o n - b o a r d m a g a z i n e n ° 5 1
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