Tau

Tau, Samoais considered as the westernmost and largest island of the Manu Islands group. Manu Islands consists of many small groupings of islands which include Tau islands, Ofu islands, and Olosega islands, situated at the eastern end of the Samoan archipelago. Half of the Tau Island is being administered by the National Park Samoa which lies 10km southeast from the Ofu-Olosega combination and is 110km east from Tutuila. Tau is the American Samoa’s second largest island and is the fourth largest place of the Samoan archipelago. This place has lots of sleepy villages with few cars and zero tourist infrastructures.

Despite Tau lack of tourist establishments, its tropical beaches and densely Forest Mountains serve as this island’s main tourist attraction. Tau’s current form today is the product of the collapse of the volcanoes located near its vicinity. In fact, the entire area in effect is the remains of the northern flank volcano with large embayment of the south coast. From the southern shore down to its series of flat steeps locally known as Liu Bench, the eastern end of the Mataaloasagami Ridge can be seen.

Much of Tau cliff line is still inclined or is composed of steep slope that drops directly to the sea or narrow coastal reef. There are also narrow coastal reefs present in the east, northeast and west coasts. 45km to the east of Tau Island the Vailulu Seamount can be spotted. This is an active volcano that currently marks the Samoan hotspot. This seamount rises from 4,800m of depth that has a height of 590m from beneath the sea surface.

Tau