Tegua Explained

Tegua
Native Name:Tugue
Settlement Type:Island
Pushpin Map:Vanuatu
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Vanuatu
Coordinates:-13.2464°N 166.6258°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Vanuatu
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Torba Province
Seat Type:Municipality seat
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:30.8
Area Note:[1]
Population Total:58
Population As Of:2009
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:VUT
Utc Offset:+11

Tegua is an island in Vanuatu's Torres Islands chain, located in Torba Province.

Geography

The island spans 7 km by 6.5 km; on the eastern side of the island is Lateu Bay indented 1.8 km. Ngwel Island is located 600 meters off the west coast of Tegua Island.[2]

Population

The only village is Lateu, with a population of 58.[3] About 100 residents of Tegua were evacuated by the government because rising sea levels were flooding their island.

One geological study found that of four islands in the group, Tegua had the slowest inferred uplift rate at 0.7 mm/yr for southeastern Tegua. A "narrow E-W trending block has been down-dropped relative to the rest of the isle.

Name

The name Tegua pronounced as /teɣua/ comes from the Mota language, which was used as the primary language of the Melanesian Mission. Locally, the island is called Tugue pronounced as /tʉˈɣʉə/ in Lo-Toga, and Töyö pronounced as /tɵˈjɵ/ in Hiw. These names all come from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *Teɣua.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Vanuatu . Haos Blong Volkeno . 8 August 2018.
  2. Web site: Seech . John . Tegua Island, Vanuatu - John Seach . Vanuatu Travel . 5 August 2018.
  3. 2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release. Vanuatu National Statistics Office . 2009 . October 11, 2010.