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The Kermadec Islands are situated at 29 deg South and 177 deg West (Raoul
Island) approx. 790 km Northeast of New Zealand on the half the way between
Tonga and New Zealand. Raoul is the largest (about 10 sqkm) and northernmost
island of the Kermadec Islands. Stretching out on about 130 km there are many
smaller islands and reefs belonging to this archipelago like Cheeseman, Curtis,
L'Esperance Rock, Macauley and Meyer Island. The highest elevation is the 516m
high stratovolcano on Raoul Island who erupted last in 1964.
This island group was named after the French captain Huon Kermadec. Raoul was
first populated by the Polynesians in the 13th or 14th century, only between
1878 and 1914 the first Europeans settled here. Since then this island group is
not populated anymore. New Zealand put up a weather station on Raoul Island in
1930 which is operated by about ten scientists. They are especially interested
in the earthquakes down there, sometimes there are more than 100 a month with a
strength of 7 on the Richter scale!
The islands form a natural reservate since 1934, visitors must obtain a
special permit from the Department of Conservation in New Zealand. Reason is the
very fragile ecosystem there, only Raoul Island is a bit more stable. Until a
few years ago all visitors had to leave the island and return to their ships at
dawn.
Amateur radio: Prefix ZL8, ZM8; own DXCC entity, UTC + 12 hours. CQ zone: 32,
ITU zone: 60, IOTA: OC-039. Rank 26 on ARRL's Most Wanted List. <DX-NL 1266 October 24, 2001>
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