Nengonengo is a small atoll of the
Tuamotu Archipelago
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 ...
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 ...
. It is located 53 km southeast of
Ravahere
Ravahere is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 53 km northwest of Nengonengo Atoll and it is separated by a 2 km sound from Marokau Atoll, its closest neighbor to the north.
Marokau and Ravahere fo ...
, its closest neighbor, and 100 km southwest of
Hao Atoll.
Nengonengo Atoll is roughly bell-shaped. It measures 13 km in length with a maximum width of 8 km. It has a wide lagoon with a surface 67 km². There is a narrow pass to enter the lagoon on the north side, but no charted data appears to be available.
In August 1952, W.I.B. Crealock, in the Brixham Trawler Arthur Rogers, captained by Tom Hepworth, reported a pass into the lagoon. Hepworth attempted entrance but was temporarily hung up in the shallow pass requiring use of a winch to gain entry into the lagoon. William Ion Belton Crealock was a sailor, sailing navigator, yacht designer, and author. He was one of the world's leading yacht designers from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Once anchored in the lagoon, Hepworth took soundings in the pass. As reported by Crealock (1955:205-207):
"For the next three days we surveyed the pass from the dingy, working during the few hours of slack water; we had learned by now that in normal weather the current in these lagoons will slacken off towards high and low water, and that there might even be a slight in-going current for an hour or so. Three of us were needed for these sounding operations, one to row the dingy, one to work the lead line, and the third to see, from underwater, that the lead missed no irregularities in the bottom. We were working not in feet but with inches. The bed of the pass, we discovered, was smoothed by the current, with coral growths no larger than cabbages on gently undulating slopes."
Tom Hepworth discovered that there was no straight path through the pass with more than 6 feet of water.in the Admiralty Pilot available in 1952, depth of the pass was reported at 6 fathoms instead of 6 feet, with the pass reported on the eastern rather than northern side of the reef. There is a non-navigable pass on the eastern side. Hepworth anchored adjacent to the beach in the northwest corner of the lagoon. The Aurther Rogers possessed an 8-foot draft, and to close the gap between pass depth and boat draft, they waited 10 days for spring tides, which increased pass depth, and then altered the trim of the boat. They eventually found a channel through the pass carrying 7.5 feet, and were able to escape the lagoon.
Nengonengo has a very small population, and is actually occupied exclusively by the pearl farms belonging to Mr. R. Wan.
History
The first recorded European who arrived to Nengonengo was Englishman
Samuel Wallis
Samuel Wallis (23 April 1728 – 21 January 1795 in London) was a British naval officer and explorer of the Pacific Ocean. He made the first recorded visit by a European navigator to Tahiti.
Biography
Wallis was born at Fenteroon Farm, n ...
in 1767. He named it "Prince William Henry".
The small private airport on Nengonengo was inaugurated in 1993. It is owned by the
Wan pearl company.
Administration
Nengonengo Atoll belongs 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 Hao, which includes
Ahunui
Ahunui or Nga-taumanga is a small atoll of the eastern Tuamotus, Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 55 km SSE of Paraoa Atoll and 120 km WSW of Vairaatea.
Ahunui Atoll is roughly circular in shape and measures 6.5&n ...
(uninhabited), Nengonengo,
Manuhangi
Manuhangi (also known as Te Fara) is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 68 km southeast of Nengonengo, 52 km west of Paraoa and 845 km east of Tahiti. ''Oceandots.com''
Manuhangi Atoll is smal ...
(uninhabited) and
Paraoa
Paraoa, Tohora, or Hariri is a small atoll of the central Tuamotus, Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 76 km south of Hao (French Polynesia), Hao Atoll's westernmost point. The closest land is Manuhangi Atoll, 52 km t ...
(uninhabited).
References
Nengonengo Seamount*
:de:Samuel Wallis, History Atoll names
Crealock, W.I.B., 1955, Toward Tahiti. Peter Davis Publishing, London.
External links
{{Tuamotus
Atolls of the Tuamotus