“Moai Statues in Easter Island” Take a Geotourism around the Chilean Wonderland

Easter Island

Easter Island covers roughly 64 square miles in the South Pacific Ocean and is located some 3700 km. from Chile’s west coast and 4023 km. east of Tahiti. It is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean and marks the southeastern corner of the Polynesian triangle. The island is barely 24 km in length and 12 km in width size. It is home to almost 900 giant Moai or Mo’ai, monolithic human statues. This structure is known as Rapa Nui to its earliest inhabitants.

The statues show that their creators were master craftsmen and engineers. The Statue is distinctive among other stone sculptures found in Polynesian cultures. Rapa Nui has a rich culture and their descendants set nearly 900 giant stone statues that have been found in diverse locations around the island. Averaging 4 meters high, with a weight of 13 tons, these enormous stones are known as Moai. These were carved out of Tuff Rock, a consolidated volcanic ash rock, and placed atop ceremonial stone platforms called ahus. It is still a mystery, why these statues were constructed in such numbers, or how they were moved around the island.

Age of the Statue

Archaeological department dated back these monolithic human statues around 700-850 A.D.  The biggest statue found in the area measures about 10 meters tall and consists of a single block weighing about 82 tons. The first known European visitor to Island was the Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen, who arrived in 1722. The Dutch named the island Paaseiland or Easter Island to commemorate the day they arrived In 1770.

Easter Island and monolithic human statue

The Island was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions. It consists of hilly terrain, with many subterranean caves and corridors that extend deep into mountains of volcanic rock. The island’s largest volcano is known as Rano Kao. Its highest point is Mount Terevaka, which reaches 507.5m above sea level.

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Easter Island has a population of roughly 3,300 people. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage site. Easter Island’s charm lies in the mysteries surrounding the island and the Moai. Many things about Easter Island are still unsolved like where the original Rapa Nui came from, why did they carve the statues, and how were the statues moved to this place.

Island now homes to a mixed population, mostly of Polynesian ancestry. The spoken language is generally Spanish, and the largest economy of the island is tourism. Reaching Easter Island is far easier, but the island is still very far afield. Visitors can take long flight service from Santiago, Chile, and Tahiti to Rapa Nui.