Moai On The Easter Island
Posted On November 22, 2009
Easter Island is a group of island in the Pacific Ocean and is located at the Polynesian triangle. Easter Island is a territory of Chile which was annexed in 1888. Easter Island is very much popular among the tourists for its 887 monumental statues which are commonly known as Moai. Moai was basically created by the Rapanui people. Most of the parts of the Island are covered by the Rapa Nui National Park. Easter Island is also declared as the World Heritage Site. Historically the island had faced a severe downfall in the ecosystem. As a result of this downfall many of the pre historic species of the island got extinct. It is stated that all these events occurred due to the exploitation if the islands resources. The island also has extinct volcanoes.
The Island got its name as the Easter Island from a Dutch explorer named Jacob Roggeveen. He was the first person to find the island and he landed on the island on the 1722, Easter Sunday. This European visitor was searching the David’s Island. The Spanish name of the place is Isla de Pascua which also means Easter Island. “Rapa Nui” or “Big Rapa” the Polynesian name of the island was given by the immigrants of Rapa and Brass Islands.
Easter Island is located near; Chile is one of the most isolated islands in term of the human population in the world. The overall shape of the island is more or less of that of the triangle. The total area of the Island is nearby about 163.6 sq.km. There are three freshwater lakes but no permanent river.
The Eastern Island has a sub tropical marine climate. The average temperature ranges from 18°C to 28°C. The maximum rainfall is experienced in the month of April also the island experiences a year round rainfall.
The Island is most famous for the Moai, the huge stone statues. Nearly 288 Moai’s stand on the big stone which is known as ahu. There are nearly 250 ahu platforms which are located at a distance of nearly half a mile from each other. 
This creates an unbroken line in the circumference of the island. Across the entire island you will come across nearly 600 moai statutes. Different statues are in the different stage of completion. The statues are present near the coastal areas, long ancient roads as well as quarries. Moai is made from the tough stone that is available in the Rano Raraku volcano. The average height of the statue is 14 feet and 6 inches tall also the average weight is 14 tons. Some of the moai were 33 feet tall and was more than 80 tons in weight.
The Moai and ahu are supposed to be carved around AD 1000. It is believed that in AD 500 the use of Moai and ahu was begun. Majority of the Moai was erected by 1650. When Jacob Roggeveen visited the island in 1722 the Moai were standing still. Few of the Moia were capped with hats or crowns which were made by the red volcanic stone.
