Taʻū

Taʻū is the largest inhabited island in the Manuʻa Islands and the easternmost volcanic island of the Samoan Islands.^[1] Taʻū is part of American Samoa. In the early 19th century, the island was sometimes called Opoun.

Taʻū

Ta'u as seen from space
Geography
Location	South Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	14°14′S 169°28′W
Area	44.31 km2 (17.11 sq mi)
Highest elevation	931 m (3054 ft)
Highest point	Lata Mountain
Administration
United States
Territory	American Samoa
Demographics
Population	790 (in 2010)

Taʻū is well known as the site where the American anthropologist Margaret Mead conducted her dissertation research in Samoa in the 1920s, after which she published her findings in a work titled Coming of Age in Samoa. Ta’u also has the highest mountain in American Samoa, Mount Lata, as well as 21 square kilometers (8.3 sq mi) of National Park lands, and 3.9 km² (1.5 sq mi) of waters separated by some of the tallest sea cliffs in the world.^[2]

On the western coast of Taʻū are the conterminous villages of Lumā and Siufaga, usually referred to jointly as Taʻū village.^[3] The village of Taʻū has been named the capital of the Manuʻa Islands. Fitiuta is another Taʻū village, located on the northeast side of the island.^[4]

The Valley of Giants, located in the waters southwest of Taʻū, is home to one of the world's largest and oldest coral colonies. Its most notable feature is Big Momma ("Fale Bommie"), a massive coral formation standing 6.4 meters high with a circumference of 41 meters. It is estimated to be over 530 years old.^[5] It is recognized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the largest known coral head in the world.^[6] The massive Porites coral heads at Taʻū are the largest and oldest corals of their genus on Earth.^[7]

The south coast of Taʻū Island is home to the tallest sea cliffs on Earth, which rise to a height of 3,000 feet. Visitors can walk along the coastline at the base of the cliffs.^[8][9]

History

In ancient times, the three islands of the Manuʻa Group existed as a unified polity. Taʻū served as the primary center of authority, hosting the Tui Manu'a paramount chieftaincy.^[10] In 1986, researchers uncovered ceramic-bearing locations in Taʻū Village, including a surface find of a Polynesian Plain Ware sherd. Subsequent test excavations revealed deeper cultural layers linked to the Ancestral Polynesian period. This evidence indicated that the prehistoric developments in the Manuʻa Islands generally align with those documented in larger and more thoroughly studied areas of Western Sāmoa.^[11]

In early 1987, a major hurricane struck the Manuʻa Islands, severely impacting Taʻū. Nearly all homes on the island were destroyed, leading to a Federal disaster declaration.^[12]

Geography

The island is the eroded remnant of a hotspot shield volcano with a caldera complex or collapse feature (Liu Bench) on the south face. The summit of the island, called Lata Mountain, is at an elevation of 931 m (3,054 ft), making it the highest point in American Samoa. The last known volcanic eruption in the Manuʻa Islands was in 1866, on the mid-ocean ridge that extends west-northwest towards nearby Ofu-Olosega.^[13]

The largest airport in the Manuʻa Islands is on the northeast corner of Taʻū at Fitiʻuta. There is also a private airport. A boat harbor is located at Faleāsao at the northwestern corner of the island. A roadway along the north coast connects all of the several inhabited villages between Taʻū on the west and Fitiʻuta.

All of the southeastern half of Taʻū—including all of the rainforest on top of Lata Mountain and within the caldera—the southern shoreline, and associated coral reefs are part of the National Park of American Samoa. The park includes the ancient, sacred site of Saua, considered to be the birthplace of the Polynesian people.

A coral colony off the island. Discovered by the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, it is one of the largest colonies in the world.^[14]

Administratively, the island is divided into three counties: Faleāsao County, Fitiʻuta County, and Taʻū County. Along with the Ofu and Olosega Islands, Taʻū Island comprises the Manuʻa District of American Samoa. The land area of Taʻū Island is 44.31 km² (17.11 sq mi) and it had a population of 873 persons as of the 2000 census and of 790 persons in the 2010 census.

In 2000, a subsea volcano 48 km (30 mi) from Taʻū Island was discovered by scientists. Rockne Volcano has formed an undersea mountain which is 4,300 m (14,000 ft) tall. Its peak is 5,500 m (18,000 ft) below the ocean surface.^[15]

In the southeastern part of the island are the 450-meter high Laufuti Falls waterfall. It is located a few kilometers southwest of Saua.^[16]

National Park

The Taʻū unit of the American Samoa National Park spans approximately 2,025 hectares (over 5,000 acres) and constitutes the largest section of the park. It contains predominantly unaltered coastal, lowland, montane, and cloud rain forests. On the island’s southern shore, Laufuti Falls descends more than 300 meters (1,000 feet) toward the ocean.^[17]

Anthropological research

Taʻū is home to the world's tallest sea cliffs.^[18]

Main article: Coming of Age in Samoa

Taʻū is where the 23-year-old anthropologist Margaret Mead conducted her dissertation research in Samoa in the 1920s, published in 1928 as Coming of Age in Samoa. In her work, she studied adolescent girls and compared their experience to those of Western societies. She concluded that adolescence was a smooth transition, not marked by the emotional or psychological distress, anxiety, or confusion seen in the United States.^[19]

Electricity

Until 2016, being a small and isolated island, the island relied on costly and polluting diesel generators to supply electricity. However, with the construction of a solar array, battery storage system, and microgrid, the island's power relies almost 100% from the sun.^[20][21] The solar array was built by SolarCity and now includes sixty Tesla Powerpacks. The system should be a more reliable source of energy and was designed to power the entire island for three days without sunlight and fully recharge in seven hours.^[22]

References

1. Hills, J.W. (2010). O upu muamua i le Tala i le Lalolagi mo e ua faatoa a'oa'oina u lea mataupu: Elementary Geography. Nabu Press. Page 62. ISBN 9781147952896.
2. "ESRL Global Monitoring Laboratory - American Samoa Observatory".
3. Gray, John Alexander Clinton (1980). Amerika Samoa. Arno Press. Page 121. ISBN 9780405130380.
4. Hills, J.W. (2010). O upu muamua i le Tala i le Lalolagi mo e ua faatoa a'oa'oina u lea mataupu: Elementary Geography. Nabu Press. Page 63. ISBN 9781147952896.
5. Rawlings-Way, Charles and Brett Atkinson (2016). Lonely Planet South Pacific. Lonely Planet Global Limited. Page 312. ISBN 9781786577344.
6. https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/earthisblue/wk146-protecting-big-momma.html
7. Weaver, Sigourney (2020). America's Marine Sanctuaries: A Photographic Exploration. Smithsonian. Page 202. ISBN 9781588346667.
8. Insight Guides (2022). Insight Guides US National Parks West. APA Publications. Page 134. ISBN 9781839052927.
9. https://www.britannica.com/place/National-Park-of-American-Samoa
10. Hunt, Terry L. and Patrick Vinton Kirch (1993). The To'aga Site: Three Millennia of Polynesian Occupation in the Manu'a Islands, American Samoa. Berkeley, CA: Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley. Page 9. ISBN 9781882744015.
11. Hunt, Terry L. and Patrick Vinton Kirch (1993). The To'aga Site: Three Millennia of Polynesian Occupation in the Manu'a Islands, American Samoa. Berkeley, CA: Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley. Pages 5 and 43. ISBN 9781882744015.
12. Hunt, Terry L. and Patrick Vinton Kirch (1993). The To'aga Site: Three Millennia of Polynesian Occupation in the Manu'a Islands, American Samoa. Berkeley, CA: Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley. Page 14. ISBN 9781882744015.
13. "Ta'u". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
14. "NOAA researchers and partners find new record-sized coral colony in American Samoa | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration". National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
15. Sunia, Fofo I.F. (2009). A History of American Samoa. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. Page 355. ISBN 9781573062992.
16. Stanley, David (1996). South Pacific Handbook. David Stanley. Page 424. ISBN 9781566910408.
17. Goldin, Meryl Rose (2002). Field Guide to the Sāmoan Archipelago: Fish, Wildlife, and Protected Areas. Bess Press. Page 274. ISBN 9781573061117.
18. Insight Guides (2022). Insight Guides US National Parks West. Apa Publications. Page 134. ISBN 9781839052927.
19. Mead, Margaret (1928). Coming of Age in Samoa. William Morrow Paperbacks. pp. XIII-XV. ISBN 978-0688050337. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
20. "Tesla runs an entire island on solar power".
21. "Manu'a now powered by Solar Energy". American Samoa Government. 27 October 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020.
22. Heathman, Amelia. "This island is powered entirely by solar panels and batteries thanks to Solarcity". Wired. Retrieved 23 November 2016.

External links

• Tau Island: Faleasao, Fitiuta, and Ta'u counties, Manu'a District, United States Census Bureau