View source for Hatutu

{{Short description|Island in French Polynesia}}
{{Infobox islands
| name             = Hatutu (Hatuta‘a)
| local_name       =
| map_image        = Nwmarqpic.png
| map_caption      = Image of northwestern Marquesas Islands.  Hatutu is the center island.  ''Image courtesy of [[Johnson Space Center]].''
| location         = [[South Pacific Ocean]]
| coordinates      = {{Coord|7.92|S|140.57|W|type:isle_region:PF|display=inline,title}}
| archipelago      = [[Marquesas Islands]]
| waterbody        =
| area_km2         = 18.1
| area_footnotes   =
| coastline_km     =
| coastline_footnotes =
| elevation_m      = 428
| elevation_footnotes =
| highest_mount    =
| country          = [[France]]
| country_admin_divisions_title = [[Overseas country of France|Overseas country]]
| country_admin_divisions       = [[French Polynesia]]
| population       = 0<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ispf.pf/docs/default-source/rp2017/repart_poplegale_iles_2017_v3.pdf?sfvrsn=2 |title=Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017 |publisher= Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française |url-status=dead |page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113154511/http://www.ispf.pf/docs/default-source/rp2017/repart_poplegale_iles_2017_v3.pdf?sfvrsn=2 |archive-date=13 November 2018}}</ref>
| population_as_of = 2017
| density_km2      = 0
}}
'''Hatutu''' (also called '''Hatuta‘a''') is a small island approximately 3&nbsp;km (2&nbsp;mi.) northeast of [[Eiao]] in the northern [[Marquesas Islands]]. It is approximately 3 km (2 mi) from Eiao by a channel 50 meters deep. It was also known by the names Hancock, Chanal, Langdon, and Nexsen
Hatutu is administratively part of the [[Communes of France|commune]] (municipality) of [[Nuku-Hiva]], itself in the [[French Polynesia#Administrative divisions|administrative subdivision]] of the [[Marquesas Islands]].
It consists of a high central ridge, which runs the full 6.5&nbsp;km (4&nbsp;mi.) length of the island.  The ridge rises to heights up to 428 m (1,404&nbsp;ft.) above [[sea level]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environnement.pf/spip.php?rubrique62 |title=Hatutu |publisher=DIREN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605120323/http://www.environnement.pf/spip.php?rubrique62 |archive-date=5 June 2013}}</ref> Its only anchorage point is in the south of the island for small ships.
[[File:Hatutu map 513416036 14c5d4a53f o.jpg|thumb|Outline Map of Hatutu]]
The island was discovered by an American named Joseph Ingraham in April of 1791, then again two months later by a Frenchman known as Étienne Marchand. There have never been permanent settlement on the island, however in 1798 Edmund Fanning reported seeing smoke plumes, suggesting temporary settlement by native people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-12 |title=Early Observations of Marquesan Culture, 1595–1813 |url=https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/early-observations-of-marquesan-culture-1595-1813 |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=UAPress |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1992, Hatutu was declared a [[nature reserve]]:  the [[Hatutu Nature Reserve]].
The island is an important nesting ground for [[red-footed booby]], [[black noddy]], [[white tern]], [[great frigatebird]], and [[masked booby]], and home to the endemic [[northern Marquesan reed warbler]] and the [[Marquesan ground dove]].  It is also the largest breeding site of [[Phoenix Petrel]] in [[French Polynesia]] Many native seabirds come to nest on the island throughout the year. The island is also plagued by [[Polynesian rat]] (Rattus exulens) a species introduced by humans sometime in the last several hundred years. The rats likely prey upon native animals and plants potentially changing the ecosystem dynamic on the island.
==See also==
{{Portal|Islands}}
* [[French Polynesia]]
* [[Marquesan Nature Reserves]]
* [[Desert island]]
* [[List of islands]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Marquesas Islands}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Islands of the Marquesas Islands]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of French Polynesia]]
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub}}