![TepotonordISS002-E-8862](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/TepotonordISS002-E-8862.PNG)
Tepoto, also known as Te Poto, Toho, or Pukapoto, is a
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
. It is the northwesternmost of the
Disappointment Islands
The Disappointment Islands (french: Îles du Désappointement) are a subgroup of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. They are located towards the northeast, away from the main Tuamotu group.
The Disappointment Islands are a small gr ...
, in 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 ...
. Despite being often referred to as "atoll", Tepoto is not a typical Tuamotu atoll, but a single separate island without a lagoon. It is located at the limit of the Tuamotu archipelago; the closest land is
Napuka
Napuka, or Pukaroa, is a small coral atoll in the Disappointment Islands, in the northeastern part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located only 15 km to the southeast of Tepoto Nord, its nearest neighbor, forming a s ...
, which lies to the southeast.
Tepoto is long and wide; it has an area of . This island is sometimes called Tepoto Nord in
French, to avoid confusion with
Tepoto Atoll (Tepoto Sud) to the southwest, in the
Raeffsky Islands
The Raeffsky Islands or Raevski Islands (french: Îles Raéffsky or ''Îles Raevski'') is a subgroup with just over 3000 people in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located roughly in the central area of the main Tuamotu atoll clus ...
of central Tuamotu. An obsolete name is Otuho.
According to 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 ...
, its population was 61 inhabitants. The primary village is
Tehekega. There is a wide road running around the whole island.
In 2018 there were about 40 residents, 13 of which were children under the age of 12.
[A Journey to the Disappointment Islands]
/ref>
History
The first recorded European to arrive at Tepoto Nord was explorer John Byron
Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...
in 1765.
He named Napuka and Tepoto "Disappointment Islands" because of the lack of a safe anchorage
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
and the hostility of the natives.[
]
Administration
Tepoto Nord 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 Napuka. The commune of Napuka consists of the atolls of Napuka and Tepoto Nord.
References
Tepoto Nord
Atoll names
Related article
*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 ...
Islands of the Tuamotus
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub