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Rano Kau

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View of Rano Kau from the approach to Orongo showing the gap in the lip of the crater wall

Rano Kau is an extinct volcano that forms the southwestern headland of Easter Island, a Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean.

Rapa Nui, with Rano Kau and the volcanoes Terevaka & Poike. To the South are the ruins at Orongo, as well as the islets Motu Nui, Moto Kau Kau & Motu Iti. To the North are Mataveri International Airport then Hanga Roa town

Rano Kau has a crater lake which is one of the island's only two natural bodies of fresh water. Most of the Volcano is on the coast and has been eroded back to form high sea cliffs which at one point have started to bite into the crater wall.On its Northern side the Volcano slopes down to Mataveri International Airport.

Rano Kau is in the world heritage site of Rapa Nui National Park and gives its name to one of the seven sections of the park. The principal archaeological site on Rano Kau is the ruined village of Orongo which is located at the point where the sea cliff and inner crater wall converge. One Ahu with several Moai was recorded on the cliffs at Rano Kau in the 1880s, but had fallen to the beach by the time of the Routledge expedition in 1914.