Page 87 - French Polynesia

here are climatic variations between the leeward and wind- B ecause Tahiti rises from sea level to the 2241-meter summit of
Mount Orohena, many different habitats exist in accordance
T ward sides of Tahiti due to such factors as differing sunlight with the change of temperature and rainfall. The habitats at the
top of the mountains could be anywhere from 15-20ºC cooler than
exposures, trade winds, humidity and altitude all creating unique the 26ºC that is common at sea level. Sub-alpine zones are found
ecosystem niches on the island. The wet, southeast trade winds on three of Tahiti’s mountains that reach over 2,000 meters. While
that occur from November to March create a distinctively different these high altitude habitats are only small portion of Tahiti, they
climate and growing environment on the windward sides of the are a distinguishing feature that separates the island from other
island. In contrast, the leeward coast is drier, receiving 2 meters islands in the South Pacific. When the Polynesian people arrived
rainfall per year compared with an average rainfall of 3-4 meters in Tahiti they brought some thirty different domestic species of
per year on the windward coast. Mount Orohena is nearly always plants including taro, breadfruit, coconuts, and bamboo, which in
enveloped in heavy cloud cover and rainfall increases rapidly large part replaced much of the native vegetation of the coastal
with elevation, reaching up to 10 m per year in the center of the and low valley zones.
island. Brief and turbulent storms frequently occur during the wet
season, and cyclones, which are less common in French Polynesia,
can sometimes occur. Traditionally cyclones are rare, yet in 2010
Cyclone Olly caused significant damage in Tahiti. Prior to this
example of extreme weather, it had been 28 years since the last
substantial cyclone.