Tahanea

Tahanea

NASA picture of Tahanea Atoll
Tahanea
Geography
Location Pacific Ocean
Coordinates 16°50′S 144°45′W / 16.833°S 144.750°W / -16.833; -144.750Coordinates: 16°50′S 144°45′W / 16.833°S 144.750°W / -16.833; -144.750
Archipelago Tuamotus
Area 522.5 km2 (201.7 sq mi)  (lagoon)
7.7 km2 (3.0 sq mi) (above water)
Length 48 km (29.8 mi)
Width 15.2 km (9.44 mi)
Administration
France
Overseas collectivity French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision Tuamotus
Commune Anaa
Demographics
Population Uninhabited[1] (2012)
NASA picture of Tahanea Atoll.

Tahanea Atoll is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) to the east of Faaite Atoll.

Tahanea Atoll measures 48 kilometres (30 mi) in length with a maximum width of 15.2 kilometres (9.4 miles). The southern reef fringing the atoll is wider than the northern one, but the largest islands are on the narrower northern rim. Tahanea has a wide and deep lagoon with a surface of 545 square kilometres (210 square miles) . There are three deep, navigable, passes into the lagoon, which are called Motupuapua, Teavatapu and Otao.

Tahanea is uninhabited, but visited occasionally by islanders from neighbouring atolls.

History

The first recorded European to sight Tahanea was Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea on 9 November 1774 on ship Aguila. He named this atoll "San Julián".[2][3]

Russian oceanic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen visited Tahanea in 1820 on ships Vostok and Mirni. He named this atoll "Chichagov" .

Administration

Tahanea belongs to the commune of Anaa that also includes the associated commune of Faaite with the atoll of Faaite and the uninhabited atolls of Tahanea and Motutunga.

References

  1. ↑ "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Sharp, Andrew The discovery of the Pacific Islands Oxford, 1960, p.125,126,127.
  3. ↑ Brand, Donald D. The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.139.
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