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Maria Est
Maria Atoll is an uninhabited small atoll of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located in the far southeast of the archipelago, about southwest from Marutea Sud. Maria's closest neighbour is the small atoll of Matureivavao of the Acteon Group, to the northwest. Maria Atoll is oval in shape and bound by a continuous reef. It is 5.6 km long and 2.9 km wide. Its islands are low and flat and the lagoon is hypersaline. This atoll is mostly called "Maria Est" in order to avoid confusion with another small atoll called Maria (Nororotu) in the Tubuai (Austral Islands) Tubuai or Tupuai is the main island of the Austral Island group, located south of Tahiti. In addition to Tubuai, the group of islands include Rimatara, Rurutu, Raivavae, Rapa and the uninhabited ﾃ四es Maria. They are part of the Austral Isl ... division of French Polynesia. History The first recorded European who arrived at Maria Est was in 1829. On some maps, Maria Atoll appeared as "Moer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambier Islands
The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera along with islets on the surrounding fringing reef, and the uninhabited Temoe atoll, which is located 45 km (28 mi) south-east of the Mangareva Islands. The Gambiers are generally considered a separate island group from Tuamotu both because their culture and language ( Mangarevan) are much more closely related to those of the Marquesas Islands, and because, while the Tuamotus comprise several chains of coral atolls, the Mangareva Islands are of volcanic origin with central high islands. Administratively, the Gambier Islands are inside the commune of Gambier, which also includes several atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago. The town hall ('' mairie'') of the commune of Gambier is located on Mangareva, in the Gambier Islands. The populati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archipelago, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep Islands, the Galﾃ｡pagos Islands, the Japanese archipelago, the Philippine Archipelago, the Maldives, the Balearic Islands, The Bahamas, the Aegean Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, the Canary Islands, Malta, the Azores, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the British Isles, the islands of the Archipelago Sea, and Shetland. They are sometimes defined by political boundaries. For example, the Gulf archipelago off the northeastern Pacific coast forms part of a larger archipelago that geographically includes Washington state's San Juan Islands; while the Gulf archipelago and San Juan Islands are geographically related, they are not technically included in the same archipelago ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ﾃ四es Maria
ﾃ四es Maria or simply Maria, also known as Hull Island, is a small coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Its original name is Nororotu. The nearest island is Rimatara situated to the ESE. The atoll consists of four islets (''ﾃｮles''), with a dense atoll forest and a very shallow lagoon, supporting numerous bird species. The atoll is uninhabited now, but at one time was the site of a penal colony. Copra is occasionally harvested at the island. The four islands are: # ﾃ四e du Sud # ﾃ四e Centrale # ﾃ四e de l' Ouest # ﾃ四e du Nordﾃｪt The ﾃ四es Maria should not be confused with Maria Atoll in the Gambier Islands, also in French Polynesia, which is sometimes differentiated with the name "Maria Est" (East). There is also another island once known as Hull Island in the Phoenix Islands, which is now known as Orona. History According to Polynesian legend, the uninhabited island was discovered by Chief Ama'itera'i of Rurutu in ancient times. It was made a place of exile by King Teurua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypersaline Lake
A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water (3.5%, i.e. ). Specific microbial species can thrive in high-salinity environments that are inhospitable to most lifeforms, including some that are thought to contribute to the colour of pink lakes. Some of these species enter a dormant state when desiccated, and some species are thought to survive for over 250 million years. The water of hypersaline lakes has great buoyancy due to its high salt content. Hypersaline lakes are found on every continent, especially in arid or semi-arid regions. In the Arctic, the Canadian Devon Ice Cap contains two subglacial lakes that are hypersaline. In Antarctica, there are larger hypersaline water bodies, lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys such as Lake Vanda with salinity of over 35% (i.e. 10 times as salty as ocean water). The most saline water body in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reef
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 processes窶 deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock outcrops, etc.窶巴ut there are also reefs such as the coral reefs of tropical waters formed by biotic processes dominated by corals and coralline algae, and artificial reefs such as shipwrecks and other anthropogenic underwater structures may occur intentionally or as the result of an accident, and sometimes have a designed role in enhancing the physical complexity of featureless sand bottoms, to attract a more diverse assemblage of organisms. Reefs are often quite near to the surface, but not all definitions require this. Earth's largest coral reef system is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, at a length of over . Biotic There is a variety of biotic reef types, including oyster reefs and sponge reefs, but the most massive and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acteon Group
The Acteon Group (Groupe Actﾃｩon) is a rather isolated and uninhabited subgroup in the far southeast of the Tuamotu atoll group in French Polynesia. It is located about east-southeast of Tahiti at latitude: 21ﾂｰ 17' 60 S, longitude: 136ﾂｰ 29' W. Atolls The Acteon Group includes four atolls of relatively small size: *Matureivavao *Tenararo *Tenarunga *Vahanga None of the islands on these atolls have permanent inhabitants. History The first recorded European to sight the Acteon Group was Pedro Fernﾃ｡ndez de Quirﾃｳs on 5 February 1605. He described the group as ''"four atolls crowned by coconut palms"''. On the different texts describing his voyage by other members of this Spanish expedition they were charted as "Las Cuatro Coronadas" (The four Crowned), "Las Cuatro Hermanas" (The Four Sisters), "Las Virgenes" (The Virgins) or "Las Anegadas" (The Flooded ones). The rediscovery of Acteon Group is generally credited to Thomas Ebrill, captain of the Tahitian trading vessel ''Amp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matureivavao
Matureivavao, or Maturei-vavao is an uninhabited atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. It is the largest atoll within the Acteon Group, and like others in this group, is administratively part of the Communes de France, commune of the Gambier Islands. Geography Matureivavao is about long in a NNW-SSE direction and wide. It has a land area of and a lagoon area of . It lies southeast of Tenarunga and from Tahiti. The atoll is high enough to be visible from a considerable distance. It appears as a sandy beach, backed by a line of dark green. In bad weather, the seas sometimes sweep over the reef. There is no entrance to the lagoon. In some maps, this atoll also appears as "Melbourne". History The first recorded sighting of this atoll was made during the Spanish expedition of the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernﾃ｡ndez de Quirﾃｳs on 5 February 1606 under the name ''Las Cuatro Coronadas'' (the "four crowned" (by coconut palms)), however, these o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marutea Sud
Marutea Atoll (Marutea Sud), also known as Lord Hood Island, Marutea-i-runga, and Nuku-nui, is an atoll in the far southeast of the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia. It lies in the east-northeast part of the Gambier (commune), about 72 km northeast from Maria Atoll. Marutea Atoll is irregular in shape and bound by a reef broken by passes into the lagoon. It is long with a maximum width of and a land area of approximately . Its islands are low and flat and the main village, Auorotini, is located at the northern end of the atoll. It is populated by ex Gambier Islanders looking for pearls and maintaining the pearl farms on the atoll. Marutea Sud should not be confused with Marutea Nord located in the western area of the Tuamotu Archipelago at 17ﾋ 07' S, 143ﾋ 11' W. History The first recorded European to sight this atoll was Spanish explorer Pedro Fernﾃ｡ndez de Quirﾃｳs on 4 February 1606. He called it ''San Telmo''. Other Spanish names were ''San Blas'', given by de Q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuamotu
The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: ﾃ四es Tuamotu, officially ) 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 (from northwest to southeast) over an area roughly the size of Western Europe. Their combined land area is . This archipelago's major islands are Anaa, Fakarava, Hao and Makemo. The Tuamotus have approximately 16,000 inhabitants. The islands were initially settled by Polynesians, and modern Tuamotuans have inherited from them a shared culture and the Tuamotuan language. The Tuamotus are a French overseas collectivity. History The early history of the Tuamotu islands is generally unknown. Archaeological findings suggest that the western Tuamotus were settled from the Society Islands as early as 900 CE or as late as 1200 CE. DNA evidence suggests that they were settled about 1110 CE. On the islands of Rangiroa, Manihi and Mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austral Islands
The Austral Islands (french: ﾃ四es Australes, officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ty, Tuha'a Pae) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic in the South Pacific. Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely in the northwest the Tupua'i islands (french: ﾃ四es Tubuaﾃｯ) consisting of the ﾃ四es Maria, Rimatara, Rﾅｫrutu, Tupua'i Island proper and Ra'ivﾄ」ae, and in the southeast the Bass Islands (french: ﾃ四es basses) composed of the main island of Rapa Iti and the small Marotiri (also known as Bass Rocks or ﾃ四ots de Bass). Inhabitants of the islands are known for their pandanus fiber weaving skills. The islands of Maria and Marotiri are not suitable for sustained habitation. Several of the islands have uninhabited islets or rocks off their coastlines. Austral Islands' population is 6,965 on almost . The capital of the Austral Islands administrative subdivision is Tupua'i. History Whaling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can grow. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean. Two different, well-cited models, the subsidence and antecedent karst models, have been used to explain the development of atolls.Droxler, A.W. and Jorry, S.J., 2021. ''The Origin of Modern Atolls: Challenging Darwin's Deeply Ingrained Theory.'' ''Annual Review of Marine Science'', 13, pp.537-573. According to Charles Darwin's ''subsidence model'', the formation of an atoll is explained by the subsidence of a volcanic island around which a coral fringing reef has formed. Over geologic time, the volcanic island becomes extinct and eroded as it subsides completely beneath the surface of the ocean. As the volcanic island subsides, the coral fringing reef becomes a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communes Of France
The () is a level of administrative divisions, administrative division in the France, French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipality, municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equivalent are civil parishes, although some areas, particularly urban areas, are unparished. are based on historical geographic communities or villages and are vested with significant powers to manage the populations and land of the geographic area covered. The are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. vary widely in size and area, from large sprawling cities with millions of inhabitants like Paris, to small hamlet (place), hamlets with only a handful of inhabitants. typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are ( or ), the difference residing in the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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