Makatea
Mining for phosphates has caused devestation to the landscape of island of Makatea midway between Tahiti and Hiva Oa. It is one of a number of lost island paradises in the Pacific:
- Sediment from copper mining on the island of Bougainville in the South Pacific has resulted in long term environmental damage.
- The central plateau of Nauru was mined for phosphates
- There have been worldwide protests carried out in advance of a series of atomic bomb tests from 1966-1996 on a pair of island atolls, Mururoa, and Fangataufa, in French Polynesia.
Location
Phosphate Mines
Moumu
French Polynesia
15° 50' 16.872" S, 148° 15' 45.72" W
