Tefala

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Tefala
Islet
Map of Funafuti.jpg
Funafuti atoll with Tefala on the bottom left
Tuvalu location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Tefala
Location in Tuvalu
Coordinates: 08°35′52.5″S179°04′14″E / 8.597917°S 179.07056°E / -8.597917; 179.07056 Coordinates: 08°35′52.5″S179°04′14″E / 8.597917°S 179.07056°E / -8.597917; 179.07056
Country Tuvalu
Atoll Funafuti
Population
 (2002)
  Total516

Tefala is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu. [1] [2]

Tefala is part of the Funafuti Conservation Area, established in 1996 with the aim of preserving the natural fauna and flora of the area.

Related Research Articles

Tuvalu Country in the western Pacific Ocean

Tuvalu is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji. Tuvalu is composed of three reef islands and six atolls. They are spread out between the latitude of 5° and 10° south, and between the longitude of 176° and 180°. They lie west of the International Date Line. Tuvalu has a population of 10,507. The total land area of the islands of Tuvalu is 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi).

Geography of Tuvalu

The Western Pacific nation of Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands. It is situated 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) northeast of Australia and is approximately halfway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna and north of Fiji. It is a very small island country of 26 km2 (10 sq mi). Due to the spread out islands it has the 38th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 749,790 km2 (289,500 sq mi).

History of Tuvalu Aspect of history

The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians, so the origins of the people of Tuvalu can be traced to the spread of humans out of Southeast Asia, from Taiwan, via Melanesia and across the Pacific islands of Polynesia.

Fongafale Island in Funafuti, Tuvalu

Fongafale is the largest of Funafuti's islets in Tuvalu. It is a long narrow sliver of land, 12 kilometres long and between 10 and 400 metres wide, with the South Pacific Ocean and reef on the east and the protected lagoon on the west. The north part is the Tengako peninsula, and Funafuti International Airport runs from northeast to southwest on the widest part of the island, with the village and administrative centre of Vaiaku on the lagoon side.

Tepuka

Tepuka is an island eighteen kilometers west of Fongafale, in the northwest of Funafuti, the main atoll of the Oceanian nation of Tuvalu. Te puka, or Pouka, is the name of a tree - Hernandia peltata.

Funafuti International Airport

Funafuti International Airport is an airport in Funafuti, in the capital city of the island nation of Tuvalu. It is the sole international airport in Tuvalu. Fiji Airways operates between Suva and Funafuti. Air Kiribati provides one flight a week from Tarawa to Funafuti.

Amatuku is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu on which the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute is located. Access to Amatuku is from Tengako, which is the peninsula at the north end of Fongafale islet.

Funafala is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu that is inhabited by five families, with a church also located on the islet. Funafala means 'the pandanus of Funa', the name of a chief, after whom also the group has been named Funafuti.

Fuafatu is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north of Tefala.

Fuagea is an islet located in the archipelago of Tuvalu in the south-western part of the atoll of Funafuti.

Fualefeke

Fualefeke is a small islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Motuloa is an islet in the atoll of Funafuti, Tuvalu. Motu loa means long island. It lies on the southeastern rim of the atoll and is 800 m long northeast-southwest, but only 50 m wide. It is only about 25 m southwest of Telele and can be reached by foot from it during low tide. The islet is densely vegetated.

Nukusavalevale Islet in Tuvalu

Nukusavalevale is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu. It lies on the southeastern rim of the atoll, south of Motuloa.

Telele is an uninhabited islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Vasafua is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu. Vasafua is part of the Funafuti Conservation Area, established in 1996 with the aim of preserving the natural fauna and flora of the area.

Tengako

Tengako is a peninsula at the north end of Fongafale islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu. At the end of the peninsula is Amatuku islet on which the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute is located.

Funafuti Capital of Tuvalu

Funafuti is an atoll and the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people, making it the country's most populous atoll, with 60.15 percent of Tuvalu's population. It consists of a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide. The average depth of the Funafuti lagoon is about 20 fathoms. With a surface area of 275 square kilometres (106.2 sq mi), it is by far the largest lagoon in Tuvalu. The land area of the 33 islets around the atoll of Funafuti totals 2.4 square kilometres (0.9 sq mi); taken together, they constitute less than one percent of the total area of the atoll. Cargo ships can enter Funafuti's lagoon and dock at the port facilities on Fongafale.

The Funafuti Conservation Area is a marine conservation area covering 33 square kilometers of reef, lagoon and motu (islets) on the western side of Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu. The marine environment of the conservation area includes reef, lagoon, channel and ocean; and are home to many species of fish, corals, algae and invertebrates. The islets are nesting sites for the green sea turtle and Fualopa hosts a breeding colony of black noddy.

Coral reefs of Tuvalu List of coral reefs in Tuvalu

The coral reefs of Tuvalu consist of three reef islands and six atolls, containing approximately 710 km2 (270 sq mi) of reef platforms. The islands of the Tuvalu archipelago are spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line. The islands of Tuvalu are volcanic in origin. On the atolls, an annular reef rim surrounds the lagoon, and may include natural reef channels. The reef islands have a different structure to the atolls, and are described as reef platforms as they are smaller tabular reef platforms that do not have a salt-water lagoon, although they may have a completely closed rim of dry land, with the remnants of a lagoon that has no direct connection to the open sea or that may be drying up.

References

  1. Admiralty Nautical Chart 2983 Tuvalu - Funafuti atoll. United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO).
  2. Lal, Andrick. South Pacific Sea Level & Climate Monitoring Project - Funafuti atoll (PDF). SPC Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (SOPAC Division of SPC). pp. 58 & 65. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-03.