Rimatara
- ISS004-E-5777
- 12 January 2002
- 00:01 UTC
Rimatara is a small, circular-shaped, raised coral island of the northwestern Tubuai Islands, located 205 km southeast from the Îles Maria and 150 km west from Rurutu.
The island covers an area of 8 km², with a diameter of 3 km. Rimatara has in the past been uplifted, so that an ancient coral reef of 8-10 m in height forms a makatea ridge around the islands northwestern side. This separates the low, hilly plateau of the interior (highest point, Mt. Uahu at 83 m) from the coast. Surrounding the entire islands is a fringing reef that encloses a narrow lagoon.
In the northern sectors of the interior there are a variety of vegetation types, including forest, grasslands, fernlands and scrublands; the south-eastern half of the island has extensive coastal plain populated with coconut palms. Areas of swampland have formed between the ramparts of the coral ridge and the hilly interior.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
