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Rurutu (Austral Islands, French Polynesia)

Flag of the Rurutu - Image by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, 13 January 2004, after a picture taken during the opening ceremony of the Inter-Austral Islands Games, 2000

History and geography of Rurutu
Flag of Rurutu
Rurutu, XIXth century

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History and geography of Rurutu

Quoting the website of the Presidency of French Polynesia:

Located at 22º26'S and 151º:21'W, Rurutu is 572 kilometers southwest of the island of Tahiti, and is the northernmost of the Austral Islands. This beautiful island has an area of 32.3 square kilometers. The longest part of the island is 10 kilometers and the widest part is 3 kilometers. Its highest point is Mount Manureva (398 meters).
Rurutu's surfaces are what are left of a volcano 9-12 million years old that was last active two million years ago. That activity made Rurutu a high limestone island with steep cliffs rising dramatically from the sea and caves and grottoes featuring stalactites and stalagmites. The coral reef that surrounded the island ages ago has become raised bluffs several meters high.

Pierre Vérin's archeological work has determined that the first inhabitants of Rurutu arrived around 900 AD. Excavations done at the village of Vitaria have uncovered a genuine village consisting of some 70 home sites. There also is a council platform. Rurutu's maraes used many original features, including a rectangular area covered with paving stones and a graded pyramid made of coral slaps