Hereheretue or Hiri-oro is an

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 gr ...

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 ...

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. It is the northernmost island of the

Duke of Gloucester Islands The Duke of Gloucester Islands (french: Îles du Duc de Gloucester) is a subgroup of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located southeast of Tahiti and south of the main Tuamotu atoll cluster and are rather isolated. Atolls The Duke ...

group, or Îles du Duc de Gloucester, a subgroup of the

Tuamotu The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: Îles 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, extendin ...

group. Hereheretue's nearest neighbour is

Anuanuraro Anuanuraro is an atoll in French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Duke of Gloucester Islands, a subgroup of the Tuamotu group. Anuanuraro's nearest neighbor is Anuanurunga, which is located about 29 km to the southeast. Anuanurar ...

, which is located about 150 km away. It lies 450 km southwest of

Hao Hao or HAO may refer to: People * Hao (surname) (Chinese: ) * Hao (video gamer), Chinese professional ''Dota 2'' player * Leo Hao, Russian artist *Heather O'Reilly, Professional soccer player Places * Hao (city), or Haojing (), capital of the ...

and 488 km southeast of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

. Hereheretue Atoll has a roughly trapezoidal shape. Its lagoon is quite deep and has an area of 23 km². The broad reef completely encloses the lagoon, so that there is no navigable passage to enter it. Hereheretue is the only permanently inhabited atoll of the group. It had a population of 56 at the 2012

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

. Most of the population lives in the main village Otetou.

History

The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of

Pedro Fernández de Quirós Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

on 4 February 1606. With the other three atolls of the Duke of Gloucester Islands they were named ''Cuatro Coronas'' (Four Crowns in Spanish).Burney, James ''A chronological history of the discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean'' London, 1803, vII, p.326.

Administration

Administratively the four atolls of the Duke of Gloucester Islands, including

Anuanurunga Anuanurunga is an atoll in French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Duke of Gloucester Islands, a subgroup of the Tuamotu group. Anuanurunga's nearest neighbor is Nukutepipi, which is located about to the ESE. Anuanurunga is a very s ...

and

Nukutepipi Nukutepipi, or Nuku-te-pipi is an atoll in French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Duke of Gloucester Islands, a subgroup of the Tuamotu group. Nukutepipi's nearest neighbor is Anuanurunga, which is located about 22 km to the W ...

, belong to the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Hereheretue, which is associated with the

commune. There is a meteorological station on Hereheretue.

References

Oceandots

External links

Atolls of the Tuamotus {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub