Tahanea Atoll 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 ...
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 to the east of
Faaite
Faaite, or Faaiti is an atoll of the Tuamotus in French Polynesia. It is located to the north of Anaa Atoll. The total surface of the atoll is Its dry land area is . Its length is and its width . The total population is 401 inhabitants.
F ...
Atoll.
Tahanea Atoll measures in length with a maximum width of . 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 . 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 neighboring atolls.
History
The first recorded European to sight Tahanea was Spanish navigator
Domingo de Boenechea
Domingo Bernardo de Bonechea Andonaegui ( eu, Domingo Bonetxea Andonaegi), born on September 21, 1713, in Getaria, Basque Country, Spain, died in Tahiti on January 26, 1775, was a captain in the Spanish Royal Navy and an explorer for the Spanish ...
on 9 November 1774 on ship ''Aguila''. He named this atoll "San Julián".
[Brand, Donald D. ''The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations'' The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.139.]
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
Motutunga Atoll is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 17 km to the east of Tahanea Atoll.
Motutunga Atoll is roughly triangular in shape. It measures 15 km in length with a maximum width of 14 ...
.
See also
*
Desert island
A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...
*
List of islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water
A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another plane ...
References
External links
Oceandots
Atolls of the Tuamotus
Uninhabited islands of French Polynesia
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub