Geography

Te Henua

The Land

The Henua state consists of two islands, Te Pito O Te Henua and the tiny islet of (Manu) Motu Motiro Hiva (called Isla de Sala y Gomez in Castilian), 260 miles to the east. All of the inhabitants live on the main island, except when Motu Motiro Hiva is used to house exiles.

Henua is one of the remotest inhabited places in the world: the nearest landmass, Pitcairn Island, is 1300 miles to the west, and the coast of Chile is 2200 miles to the east. There are no defined land or maritime boundaries with other nations.

The island is roughly triangular due to its formation by three volcanoes.  None are active anymore, but their craters are still prominent: Rano Kau, Rano Raraku, and Rano Aroi.  The island's population is most concentrated at the southwestern end, around the twin towns of Haña Roa and Haña Piko, and the associated villages of Mataveri, Puna Pao, and Vinapu.  The rest of the island is mainly farmland and protected forest.  The bulk of the forests are around Mount Terevaka at the island's northern vertex.

Henua has no geographic subdivisions; the seven clans provide the basis for administration when subdivisions are called for.  And while each clan has a home ahu, or shrine, along with some traditional territory, the clans themselves do not comprise geographical divisions.  The offshore islets, including Motu Motiro Hiva and Motu Nui, have special status and are considered royal property.  All of Henua's elections are at-large.
 
Being so remote, Henua has always claimed generous areas of ocean as territorial waters.  Currently it claims territoriality over waters within fifteen miles of the base shore lines of both of its islands.  Henua also claims an exclusive economic zone in the form of an ellipse with foci at Henua and Motu Motiro Hiva.  The ellipse extends to 250 miles beyond either island.  This claim has been tacitly recognized by Japan, which has certain long-standing treaty rights within Henua''s EEZ.  Chile, Charcas, Tawantinsuyu, Peru, and Castile have also been granted more limited rights within the EEZ, generally limited to scientific research and, in Chile's case, non-commercial fishing (excluding marine mammals and reptiles).

Other pages on Henua's geography:
Transport - Getting to and around the island
Colonies - Descriptions of Motu Motiro Hiva and of Henua's brief "occupation zone" in postwar China


Spnsored by the Tourism Advisorate, Council of Te Pito O Te Henua, in cooperation with the Commission for Offshore Preservation, Ecotopic Republic of Oregon.
 
Subpages (2): Colony Transport
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Ben Carnehl,
May 25, 2010 8:37 AM