Terevaka

Ma′unga Terevaka
Highest point
Elevation 507.41 m (1,664.7 ft)
Prominence 506 metres (1,660 ft)
Isolation 2,836 kilometres (1,762 mi)
Coordinates 27°5′4″S 109°22′46″W / 27.08444°S 109.37944°W / -27.08444; -109.37944Coordinates: 27°5′4″S 109°22′46″W / 27.08444°S 109.37944°W / -27.08444; -109.37944 
Geography
Location Easter Island
Geology
Mountain type Shield volcano
Last eruption Pleistocene, less than 110,000 years ago

Ma′unga Terevaka is the largest, tallest (507.41 m (1,664.73 ft)) and youngest of three main extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui (Easter Island, a Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean). Several smaller volcanic cones and craters dot its slopes, including a crater hosting one of the island's three lakes, Rano Aroi.

Map of Rapa Nui showing Terevaka, Poike and Rano Kau
Terevaka from space with Hanga Roa above and Rano Kau at top - a west up photo from Nasa

While Terevaka forms the bulk of Easter Island, the island has two older volcanic peaks; Poike which forms the eastern headland and Rano Kau the southern. Terevaka last erupted in the Pleistocene and is less than 400,000 years old. Its lava field at Roiho has been dated at between 110,000 and 150,000 years old. Terevaka is an easy walk up on a trail that starts next to the moai at Ahu Akivi, by foot or horse. It is often very windy at the top.

It is one of the most topographically isolated summits on Earth.

See also

References

  • Haase, Karsten M.; Peter Stoffers; C. Dieter Garbe-Schönberg (October 1997). "The Petrogenetic Evolution of Lavas from Easter Island and Neighbouring Seamounts, Near-ridge Hotspot Volcanoes in the SE Pacific". Journal of Petrology. 38 (06): 785–813. doi:10.1093/petrology/38.6.785. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
  • Kaneoka I, Katsui Y, 1985. K-Ar ages of volcanic rocks from Easter Island. Bull Volc Soc Japan, 30: 33-36.
  • Vezzoli L, Acocella V, 2009. Easter Island, SE Pacific: an end-member type of hotspot volcanism. Geol Soc Amer Bull, 121: 869-886.


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