Rimatara
- ISS004-E-5777
- 12 January 2002
- 00:01 UTC
Rimatara is a small circular-shaped, raised coral island of the northwestern Tubuai Islands, located 205 km southeast of the Îles Maria and 150 km west of Rurutu.
The island covers an area of 8 km² and, has in the past been uplifted, so that an ancient coral reef 8-10 m in height forms a makatea ridge around the islands northwestern side. This separates the low, hilly plateau of the interior (highest point, Mt. Uahu at 83 m) from the coast. The island is surrounded by a fringing reef that encloses a narrow lagoon.
In the north there are forest, grasslands, fernlands and scrublands, with the south-eastern half being an extensive coastal plain populated with coconut palms. Areas of swampland have formed between the ramparts of the coral ridge and the hilly interior.
