Tau, American Samoa
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226044486
2008-07-16T16:06:16Z
Ulrich023
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{{Infobox Mountain
| Name= Ta'u
| Photo=TauFromSpace.jpg
| Caption= Ta‘ū as seen from the Space Shuttle. North is towards the upper right corner.
| Elevation= {{Convert|931|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| Location=[[American Samoa]]
| Range=
| Prominence = {{Convert|931|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| Coordinates = {{coor d|14.23|S|169.45|W|type:mountain}}
| Topographic map =
| Type= [[Shield volcano]]
| Age= [[Holocene]]
| Last eruption= Unknown
| First ascent=
| Easiest route=
}}
'''Ta‘ū''' is the largest island in the [[Manua|Manu‘a Group]] and the easternmost volcanic island of the Samoan Islands. Ta‘ū is part of [[American Samoa]]. In the early 19th century, the island was sometimes called ''Opoun''.
The island is the eroded remnant of a "[[Hotspot (geology)|hotspot]]" shield volcano with a caldera complex or collapse feature (Liu Bench) on the south face. The summit of the island, called [[Lata Mountain]], is at an elevation of {{convert|966|m|ft}}, making it the highest point in American Samoa. The last known volcanic eruption in the Manu‘a Islands was in 1866, on the submarine ridge that extends westnorthwest towards nearby [[Ofu-Olosega]].
The largest airport in the Manu‘a Islands is on the northeast corner of Ta‘ū at Fiti‘uta. A boat harbor is located at Faleāsao at the northwestern corner of the island. A roadway along the north coast connects all of the several inhabited villages between Ta‘ū on the west and Fiti‘uta.
All of the southeastern half of Ta‘ū—including all of the rainforest on top of Lata Mountain and within the caldera—and southern shoreline and associated coral reefs are part of the [[National Park of American Samoa]]. The park includes the ancient, sacred site of Saua, considered to be the birthplace of the Polynesian people.
Administratively, the island is divided into three counties: [[Faleasao County]], [[Fitiuta County]], and [[Ta'u County]]. Along with [[Ofu-Olosega|Ofu]] and [[Ofu-Olosega|Olosega]] islands, Tau Island comprises the [[Manua|Manua District]] of American Samoa. The land area of Tau Island is {{convert|44.31|km2|sqmi}} and it had a population of 873 persons as of the [[United States Census, 2000|2000 census]].
== Points of interest==
* Ta‘ū is where [[Margaret Mead]] conducted her dissertation research in Samoa in the 1920s.
==References==
* {{VNUM | 0404-001}}
* Office of the Governor. 2004. ''Manu‘a ma Amerika''. A brief historical documentary. Manu‘a Centennial. 16 July 1904. 16 July 2004. Office of the Governor, American Samoa Government. 20 p.
* [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-PANEL_ID=p_dt_geo_map&-ds_name=DEC_2000_IAAS&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=DEC_2000_IAAS_P001&-tree_id=405&-errMsg=&-transpose=N&-redoLog=true&-all_geo_types=N&-geo_id=06000US6002031300&-geo_id=06000US6002034500&-geo_id=06000US6002078500&-search_results=04000US60&-format=&-_lang=en&-search_map_config=|b=50|l=en|t=4001|zf=0.0|ms=sel_00dec|dw=0.9528487917191559|dh=0.6838460131961157|dt=gov.census.aff.domain.map.EnglishMapExtent|if=gif|cx=-67.48042614595042|cy=18.385966173167105|zl=6|pz=6|bo=318:317:316:314:313:323:319|bl=362:393:358:357:356:355:354|ft=350:349:335:389:388:332:331|fl=381:403:204:380:369:379:368|g=04000US72&-show_geoid=Y Tau Island: Faleasao, Fitiuta, and Ta'u counties, Manu'a District, United States Census Bureau]
==External links==
* [http://www.nps.gov/npsa/pdf/manua.pdf National Park Service map of the Manu‘a Islands]
{{American Samoa}}
[[Category:Mountains of American Samoa]]
[[Category:Islands of American Samoa]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of American Samoa]]
[[Category:Shield volcanoes]]
[[ca:Ta'u]]
[[ja:タウ島]]
[[ru:Тау (остров)]]
[[sv:Tau (Am Samoa)]]
[[de:Ta'u]]