Aukena is the 5th largest of the
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 alo ...
in
French Polynesia
)Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze")
, anthem =
, song_type = Regional anthem
, song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui"
, image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
. Aukena is located about halfway between
Mangareva
Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent pop ...
and
Akamaru, or about 5 km southeast of Mangareva, which is the largest island of the whole Gambier Islands archipelago. Aukena is approximately 2.5 km long and about 0.5 km wide, with a total area of 1.35 km
2.
Mangarevan oral tradition first mentions the island in the fourteenth century, and archeological excavations show that it has been inhabited since that time.
Gallery
File:Tour.de.guet.Aukena.2.JPG, Watchtower. Background: Mangareva Island
File:Tour.de.guet.Aukena.JPG, Watchtower. Background: Mt. Duff
Mount Duff, also called Auorotini in the Mangarevan language, is the highest peak on the island of Mangareva in the Gambier Islands, French Polynesia. It has an elevation of 441 m. The peak was named by James Wilson after the ship '' Duff' ...
File:College.Aukena.JPG, Ruins of Re'e Seminary College, the first college of French Polynesia
File:Eglise.St.Raphael.Aukena.JPG, Church of St.Raphael
File:Four.a.chaux.Aukena.JPG, Oven for coral lime. Missionaries used it to build various churches in the Gambier Islands.
File:Vue.Tour.de.guet.Aukena.JPG, View from the watchtower. View is of Manui and Kamaka
References
Islands of the Gambier Islands
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