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[Chris Johnson]

 

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

I thought as it wasn't a direct AE question then chatterbox could have been the right place.

All things Niku are fair game in "General discussion" under the Amelia Earhart Search Forum.

And you have to expect that the people who know Niku best are the Earhart TIGHARs.

I was only asking as i have a interest in the geology and landscape of Niku outside of the AE search but never mind, if anyone can fill in some of the bits I'd be most pleased.

No can do.  I wouldn't press the term savanna (or savannah) too hard in the reference to Maude's report on the island:

So here Kanawa Point is seen not as being on the southeast corner but the
southwest.  And in his second PISS progress report, Maude says:

"...it is estimated that all of these (coconuts) can be planted around parts
of the lagoon and on the savannah country in the south-east part of the
island. " The only savannah country on the island is at Aukaraime South.

Too much wind?  Too much salt in the soil?  Poor soil?  Thin soil?

[Andrew M McKenna]

I don't know that there is any place on Niku I'd call a Savanah.  There are some generally open areas down in Aukaraime South, particularly North and South of Baureke passage, but they aren't "tropical grassland", they are barren coral rubble.  Not much soil there to be found, and I think it is because this is an area of overwash during large storms, lots of washing away the fine grained stuff, not to mention salt water.

It could also be that what Maude saw was entirely different than what we see today as we know that Aukaraime South had planting activities, and parts of it were even bulldozed by the Coast Guard at one point, so what may have been open area seen by Maude, may now be a dense thicket of scaevola.

amck