Tepuka is an island eighteen kilometers west of

Fongafale Fongafale (also spelled Fogale or Fagafale) is the largest of Funafuti's islets in Tuvalu. It is a long narrow sliver of land, 12 kilometres long and between 10 and 400 metres wide, with the South Pacific Ocean and reef on the east and the protec ...

, in the northwest of

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of la ...

, the main

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

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

n nation of

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...

. Te puka, or Pouka, is the name of a tree - ''

Hernandia ''Hernandia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hernandiaceae. It was named after the Spanish botanist Francisco Hernández de Toledo. Species , ''Plants of the World Online'' accepted the following species: * ''Hernandia albiflora'' ...

peltata''. Map of Funafuti

There is a well-preserved underground bunker on the island, which was an American communications outpost built during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, which was connected to the military airfield on Fongafale. The island lies between the smaller

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

Tepuka Vili Vili Tepuka Vili Vili or Tepuka Savilivili is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu. Tepuka Vili Vili is part of the Funafuti Conservation Area, established in 1996 with the aim of preserving the natural fauna and flora of the area. Tepuka Vili Vili was devasta ...

in the southwest, the smaller islet of Te Afualiku in the northeast, the

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 ...

on the west and the Funafuti lagoon called Te Namo on the east. In recent years the island has been majorly

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust, and then sediment transport, tra ...

. Te Ava Tepuka and Te Avua Sari are two neighbouring passages through Funafuti atoll in the northeast, between the islets of Te Afualiku to the northeast and Tepuka to the southwest. Tepuka is to the north of the

Funafuti Conservation Area The Funafuti Conservation Area is a marine conservation area covering 33 square kilometers (12.74 square miles) of reef, lagoon and ''motu'' (islets) on the western side of Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu. The marine environment of the conservation area ...

, which encompasses 33 square kilometers (12.74 square miles) of reef, lagoon and six ''motu'' (islets) to the south of Tepuku:

, (also called Tepuka Savilivili);

Fualopa Fualopa is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu. It is part of the Funafuti Conservation Area, established in 1996 with the aim of preserving the natural fauna and flora of the area.Fualopa hosts a breeding colony of black noddy (''Anous minutus'' or white- ...

;

Fuafatu Fuafatu is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu, north of Tefala. Fuafatu is part of the Funafuti Conservation Area, established in 1996 with the aim of preserving the natural fauna and flora of the area. Te Ava Fuagea, also known as Ava Amelia is a de ...

;

Vasafua Vasafua is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu. Vasafua is part of the Funafuti Conservation Area, established in 1996 with the aim of preserving the natural fauna and flora of the area. Vasafua was severely damaged by Cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyc ...

; Fuagea (also called Fuakea) and

Tefala Tefala is an islet of Funafuti, Tuvalu. Tefala is part of the Funafuti Conservation Area The Funafuti Conservation Area is a marine conservation area covering 33 square kilometers (12.74 square miles) of reef, lagoon and ''motu'' (islets) on ...

. Lepidodactylus tepukapili is a species of

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

, which has been located on Tepuka and on Fuagea (also called Fuakea).

References

{{Coord, -8.4627, 179.0802, display=title, region:TV-FUN_type:isle Islands of Tuvalu Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act Funafuti

See also

References