Pacific Distances

Far Flung Islands

The Pacific is the world's largest ocean, covering more than one-third of the Earth's surface. Islands in the Pacific are separated by hundreds, even thousands, of miles of open sea. The islands become smaller and more dispersed as one travels eastward from Melanesia, making them even more difficult to discover and relocate.

Rapanui (Easter Island) at the far eastern extreme of Polynesia is among the most isolated islands in the world. Beyond it lies an empty expanse of water, stretching 2,200 miles to the shores of South America.

Use the overlays to compare Pacific distances.

`Au i ke kai loa.
Swims the distant seas.
Said of one who travels afar.
(`Olelo No`eau #236; Pukui 1983)
Voyaging Provisions
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Revised on August 29, 1996 by mcb