Wallis Island (Uvéa)
It was part of the Tongan maritime empire from around the 13th to 16th century. By that time the influence of the Tui Tonga had declined so much that Uvea became important in itself. The big fortress of Talietumu close to Lotoalahi in Mua was the last holdout of the Tongans until they were defeated. The island was renamed "Wallis" after a Cornish navigator, Captain Samuel Wallis, who saw it while sailing aboard HMS Dolphin (1751) on 16 August 1767. On 5 April 1842, the authorities of Wallis Island requested protection by France with a protectorate treaty signed in April 1887. After a referendum in 1959, Wallis became a French Overseas Territory in 1961.
The island has an area of 77.5 km2 and a circumference of c. 50 km. Its highest point is Mount Lulu Fakahega, which rises 131 m. There are also a few large lakes such as Lake Lalolalo. These crater lakes attest to the island's volcanic origin. Some of the lakes, such as Lalolalo and Lanu'tavake appear as almost perfect circles with straight vertical walls.
Wallis Island is located 240 km northeast of Futuna and Alofi islands which form the Hoorn archipelago. Together with some 15 smaller islands surrounding it, on its huge barrier reef, it forms the Wallis archipelago. Wallis has a fertile volcanic soil and sufficient rainfall to allow subsistence farming.
Wallis is subdivided into three districts (north to south):
* Hihifo: 5 villages: Vailala, Tufuone, Vaitupu, Malae, and Alele
* Hahake: 6 villages: Liku, Aka'aka, Mata Utu, Ahoa, Falaleu, and Ha'afuasia
* Mu'a: 10 villages: Lavegahau, Tepa, Gahi, Ha’atofo, Mala’efo’ou, Kolopo, Halalo, Utufua, Vaimalau, and Teesi
Sub-equatorial oceanic trade winds make the island hot and humid. The average temperature is around 26 °C all year round and there is almost never drops below 24 °C, and in the rainy season is held in the mark 28 - 32 C.
Rainfall is 2500 – per year, up to 4000 mm in Wallis and Futuna. This rain is likely at least 260 days in a year, and the humidity is 80%. The rainy season lasts from November to April. The same period (November to March), the season of storms, is associated with the passage over the territory of the islands of powerful tropical cyclones. It is followed, in May to October–December, by a cooler and drier season because of the predominance in this period of the southeast trade winds.
Map - Wallis Island (Uvéa)
Map
Country - Wallis_and_Futuna
Mata Utu is its capital and largest city. Its land area is 142.42 km2. It had a population of 11,558 at the 2018 census (down from 14,944 at the 2003 census). The territory is made up of three main volcanic tropical islands and a number of tiny islets. It is divided into two island groups that lie about 260 km apart: the Wallis Islands (also known as Uvea) in the northeast; and the Hoorn Islands (also known as the Futuna Islands) in the southwest, including Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited Alofi Island.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
XPF | CFP franc | â‚£ | 0 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
FR | French language |