Mohotani

Mohotani (sometimes spelt Moho Tani; also called Molopu or Motane) is an uninhabited island southeast of Hiva Oa and east of Tahuata in the southern Marquesas Islands. It has an area of 15 km2. Much of the island's sparse vegetation has been destroyed by feral goats and sheep, to the extent that following its rare rains, the sea around it is stained red from runoff. Early reports describes the island as fertile, with forest and fields. When Thor Heyerdahl visited the island in 1938, there were only a few goats and remains of deserted huts and villages.

Mohotani
Moho Tani viewed from space
Location of Mohotani within the Marquesas Islands
Geography
LocationSouth Pacific Ocean
Coordinates9.9838°S 138.8296°W / -9.9838; -138.8296
ArchipelagoMarquesas Islands
Area15 km2 (5.8 sq mi)
Administration
Overseas countryFrench Polynesia

Mohotani is administratively part of the commune (municipality) of Hiva-Oa, itself in the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas Islands.

It is reported that at one time the island was inhabited by a clan called the “Moi a Tiu”, but that population has long since been wiped out by disease and war, the few survivors having departed for Hiva ʻOa. In pre-European times, the island was considered part of the territory of the province of Pepane.

In 1992, the island and its surrounding smaller islands (including Terihi) were officially protected by the declaration of the Motane Nature Reserve.

History
See also: History of the Marquesas

European exploration

The first recorded sighting of Mohotani by the Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña on 21 July 1595. They charted it as San Pedro.[1]

See also

References
  1. Sharp, Andrew The discovery of the Pacific Islands Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1960, p.51.

Resources
  • Christian, F.W. Eastern Pacific Lands, Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands. London, 1910.
  • Heyerdahl, Thor: Fatuhiva


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