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EASTER ISLAND

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EASTER ISLAND

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Climate: when to go to Easter Island

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Easter Island (Isla de Pascua, Rapa Nui), is an island belonging to Chile, located in the South Pacific, is one of the most isolated in the world, it lies at 3,600 km east from the coast of South America and at 2,000 km west from the nearest inhabited island, the equally isolated Pitcairn, while the uninhabited island of Sala y Gómez (0.12 sq km), also belonging to Chile, is only 415 km to the east. The island is so named because it was discovered on Easter Day 1722 (5 April 1722) by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, since 1888 it's owned by the Chilean. The island, triangular in shape, is of volcanic origin, it has three distinct volcanic cones: Terevaka (507 metres), which forms the central part of the island and is its highest mountain, the other two volcanoes are Poike, to the east, and Rano Kau, in the south-west. The island has no rivers, it almost completely lacking trees, while there are some lakes, in some volcanic craters as the Rano Raraku, Rano Kau and Aroi Rano. Among the activities, are practiced breeding (cattle, goats, horses and pigs); fisheries (tuna, lobster), poor is agriculture (cereals, vegetables, fruit, potatoes); important is tourism. The only village of the island is Hanga Roa. Easter Island, which the natives called Rapa Nui, is an extraordinary archeological site, world famous for large stone statues in the shape of a human head, called Moai, they numbered about 400, high up to 10 metres, built on platforms (ahu) near the sea, and oriented towards the sea. Spectacular is the island landscape, characterized by vertical cliffs, caves, lava fields and volcanic lakes. Easter Island in 1995 has been included in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.

 

Area: 163 sqkm.

Population: 3 800 (2002 data) (Polinesians (Rapa Nui 60%, Chilean 39%, Amerindians 1%).

Capital: Hanga Roa.

Languages: Official languages are Spanish and Rapa Nui.

Religion: Christian 100%

Currency: Peso (CLP).

Time: -UTC -6 hours (Summer: UTC -5 hours).

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