events
Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
Related Wikipedia articles
Thor Heyerdahl
Norwegian anthropologist and adventurer (1914–2002)
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Ochroma
Genus of trees
Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as balsa, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus Ochroma, and is classified in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the mallow family Malvaceae. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking,…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Kon-Tiki expedition
1947 raft journey from South America to Polynesia
The Kon-Tiki expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named Kon-Tiki after the Inca god Viracocha, for whom "Kon-Tiki" was said to be an old…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Reef
Shoal of rock, coral, or other material lying beneath the surface of water
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave erosion planning down rock outcrops. However,…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Raroia
Atoll in French Polynesia
Raroia, or Raro-nuku, is an atoll of the Tuamotus chain in French Polynesia, located 740 km northeast of Tahiti and 6 km southwest of Takume. Administratively it is a part of the commune of Makemo.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Tuamotus
Archipelago in French Polynesia
The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending over an area roughly the size of Western Europe. Their combined…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
August 7
Day of the year
August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 146 days remain until the end of the year.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)