Tuvalu, Vaitupu, Bathymetry Chart ,1: 20 000 #2

Vaitupu Island is located at 178 degrees 40'E and 7 degrees 28'S, and displays composite characteristics of atoll and low reef island forms, classified as a part-raised atoll with an enclosed lagoon by Scott and Rotondo (1983). The survey area extended approximately 1.8 km offshore from the coastline. The resultant data from the SOPAC marine survey in 2004 for Tuvalu was used to produce nine bathymetry charts at scales ranging from 1:20 000 to 1:50 000 and the Vaitupu chart is available for download here under the Distribution Info section .
This work was initiated by the SOPAC/EU Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States Project (Task no.: TV 1.1.1).To provide a descriptive picture of the ocean bottom terrain, vividly revealing the size, shape and distribution of underwater features, and serve as the basic tool for scientific, engineering, marine geophysical and environmental studies, as well as marine and coastal resource management.The island is pear shaped and approximately 5.2 km along the NW-SE axis, and 2.0 km along the SW-NW axis. A small ponding lagoon is located in the center of the island, which is connected to the ocean by a shallow passage on the eastern side at high tide.The water depth within the survey area around Vaitupu ranges from 9.5 to 1343.5 m. The minimum water depths occur in the nearshore area on the outer reef slope, while the seabed deepens to the maximum at an average gradient of 30 degrees near the seaward limits of the survey area.