Easter Island Known locally as Ra·pa Nu·i (rä p n  ) An island of Chile in the southern Pacific Ocean about 3,701 km (2,300 mi) west of the mainland. Inhabited by Polynesians since the fifth century a.d. and encountered by Dutch explorers on Easter Day, 1722, the island is famous for its hieroglyphic tablets and colossal heads carved from volcanic rock, which were probably produced by the Polynesian inhabitants during a period from roughly 1000 to 1600. |
Easter Island
n
(Placename) an isolated volcanic island in the Pacific, 3700 km (2300 miles) west of Chile, of which it is a dependency: discovered on Easter Sunday, 1722; annexed by Chile in 1888; noted for the remains of an aboriginal culture, which includes gigantic stone figures. Pop.: 2000 (latest est.). Area: 166 sq. km (64 sq. miles) Also called Rapa Nui
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