Rapa
ID
827
Author(s)
J. Hales
Countries
French Polynesia
Major Habitat Type
Oceanic Islands
Drainages flowing into
Pacific Ocean
Main rivers to other water bodies
Crater lakes Kau, Raraku and Aroi
Description
Boundaries
Rapa Nui (27° 9′ 0″ S, 109° 25′ 30″ W), also known as Easter Island, is a remote Polynesian island in the South Pacific Ocean 3500 km from Chile.
Topography
Rapa Nui is a volcanic high island that is a summit of an underwater mountain range. Terevaka is the largest and highest volcano on the island at 507 m asl, followed by Poike at 370 m asl. The landscape is characterized by gently rolling hills.
Freshwater habitats
Rapa contains no permanent rivers or streams, but it does have some temporary streams and the crater lakes Rano Kau, Rano Raraku, and Rano Aroi.
Terrestrial habitats
Rapa Nui subtropical broadleaf forests historically covered the island (WWF 2001).
Description of endemic fishes
This ecoregion contains no endemic species.
Justification for delineation
This ecoregion was delineated based on its isolation and distinctive fish faunas.
References
- Gillespie, R.G.;D.A. Clague (2009). "Encyclopedia of Islands" Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
- Köppen, W. (1936). "Das geographische System der Klimate" Köppen W. and R. Geiger (Ed.) Handbuch der. Klimatologie ( (Vol. 1, pp. 1–44 ) Berlin, Germany: Gebrüder Borntröger.
- World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (2001) \Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World\ "<"http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial_nt.html">"