Easter Island

Easter Island

One of the most remote locations in the world, Easter Island is home to enormous stone statues called Moai. The Moai are human figures carved by the Rapanui inhabitants of the island in the years between 1250 and 1500. Easter Island is a territory of Chile, located on the south Pacific, 2,000 miles off the west coast of South America.

Fast Facts

Location: 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile
Size: 63 square miles
Population: About 4,000
Named by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen who discovered it on Easter Sunday, 1722
Also known as Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua

A Civilization Falls

Easter Island was once believed to be inhabited by an advanced and peaceful culture whose numbers may have reached as high as 9,000 or 10,000 people at the peak of the civilization. Then something on the island went awry, and over a fairly short period of time the inhabitants were all but wiped out.

No Trees, No Humans

What is known for sure is that the loss of the island's plentiful supply of trees coincides with the disappearance of much of the human population. Some speculate that the greedy island dwellers cut down all the trees, thus sealing their own doom. Others believe European rats were responsible for the loss of trees. Still others blame overpopulation, overhunting, and poor farming practices. Today, a small number of inhabitants still call the island home, making their living largely from the tourist trade.

Vacation Activities

Categories

Socially Built Pages | History | Geography | Landmarks

| View Note History

The Mahalo Top 7

Official Site: Easter Island Foundation | History of Easter Island
Wikipedia: Easter Island | Moai Statues
Canada.com: Easter Island a Mix of Adventure, History, Awe (2007)
Lonely Planet: Easter Island Overview
Mysterious Places: Easter Island in Words and Pictures | Virtual Tour
Article: Ponder the Mysteries of Gargantuan Statues... (March 23, 2008)
YouTube Video: David Attenborough on Easter Island (Time 7:13)

Easter Island History and Information

Bradshaw Foundation: Easter Island Information
Easter Island Home Page: Easter Island Information
PBS NOVA Online: Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter Island
BBC: The Mystery of Easter Island
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Timeline of Easter Island Art History
AllAboutPopularIssues.org: Easter Island History
A Green History of the World: Lessons of Easter Island

Easter Island News and Articles

The New York Times: Justice and the Stonehenge Vandals (May 22, 2008)
Telegraph.co.uk: Easter Island: The Future's Not Set in Stone (May 13, 2008)
PhysOrg.com: Model of Easter Island Collapse Might Reveal Message... (February 11, 2008)
gringoes.com: The Enchanting Easter Island (February 19, 2007)
LiveScience: View of Easter Island Disaster All Wrong, Researchers Say (March 9, 2006)
Discover Magazine: Easter Island's End (August, 1995)

Easter Island Travel

Lonely Planet: Easter Island Overview
Wikitravel: Easter Island Travel Guide
South Pacific Organizer: Easter Island Travel Guide
Easter Island Foundation: Easter Island Visitor's Guide
VisitChile.com: Easter Island

Transportation

Frommer's: Easter Island : Planning a Trip
LAN.com: Flights to and from Easter Island and Chile

Tours and Activities

Far Horizons: Chile, Easter Island & The Tapati Festival Tour
Pacific Magazine: A Hiking Guide To Easter Island

Easter Island Photos

Flickr: Easter Island Photos
Google Images: Easter Island Photos
University of Texas: Map of Easter Island
3DPhoto.net: Easter Island 3D Photos

Easter Island Videos

Google Video: Easter Island Videos
Google Video: Easter Island (Time: 9:59)
Google Video: Easter Island: Saving the Rapanui (Time: 24:07)
YouTube Video: Maoi Statues on Easter Island (Time 3:23)
YouTube Video: Global Treasures EASTER ISLAND Rapa Nui Chile (Time 1:27)
YouTube Video: In Search Of... Easter Island Massacre (Time 22:00)

Easter Island Blogs and Commentary

The Valparaiso Times: An Easter Island Parable (May 1, 2008)
The Real Truth: Lessons From Easter Island (May 2, 2008)
New Statesman: The Real Lesson of Easter Island (February 28, 2008)
Mongabay.com: The Future of Easter Island (February 25, 2008)

Easter Island Organizations and Societies

Official Site: Easter Island Foundation
UCLA: Easter Island Statue Project

Easter Island Books and Merchandise

Amazon.com: Easter Island Books | DVDs | Apparel | Merchandise
eBay: Easter Island Books | Movies | Art | Collectibles
CafePress: Easter Island T-Shirts and Gifts
deviantART: Easter Island Art Prints
AllPosters.com: Easter Island Posters
Bradshaw Foundation: Easter Island iLecture Films
Yahoo! Shopping: Easter Island Merchandise

Related Pages on Mahalo

Statues of Easter Island | Chile | Pacific Ocean | Deforestation | Overpopulation | Rats | Stonehenge | Machu Picchu | Best Historical Mysteries