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Volcanism

The role of volcanism in Easter Island's history is total.  Like the
Hawaiian Islands, Easter Island is just the top of a rather large

undersea mountain.  It has not erupted in the recorded history of
human habitation of the island.  The rocky coastlines are not friendly

to boats or people, but the rock did lend itself to being carved into the
giant heads that now populate the island.  Craters are all over the island.

The volcanic rock on the east side of the island was suitable for carving
the large moai, while the redder volcanic rock in a fairly small crater near

the town of Hanga Roa was used for the topknots.  The large, well-formed
crater at the southwest tip of the island was largely ceremonial in nature.  The

external slopes had low-ceilinged dwellings dotting the side.  The high point on the
island is Maunga Terevaka, about 500m above sea level.  From here you can see

the rest of the island, in all it's vacant beauty.

The shot above was taken on the west shore north of Hanga Roa, just before you turn inland to get to Ahu Akivi.  The cliffs are pretty high here, and the rocks are very jagged.  The coastlines are extremely jagged everywhere- there are but a few small beaches that you can swim from.  Unlike other Pacific islands that have many offshore islands produced by millennia of reef building, Easter Island sits pretty much alone.  There are a few reefs off shore, but the few tiny islands that dot the coast are exceedingly small, and are not sandy, like the islands of Fiji or Tahiti, two other

volcanic islands.  In these shots, you can see the effect of the wind on the tops of the waves.  In the photo above, you can see the steep cliffs at Rano Kao in the distance, the well-defined crater on the southwest tip of the island near Hanga Roa.  The beaches are composed of lava, and in some places there are lava tubes which cause blowholes (one of which you can see in the Middle & South Island section of the 3D galleries.  In the photo to the right you can see the wind effect even more.

All images ©2000 by Jeffrey L. Cooper