The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: Îles Tuamotu, officially ) are a

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 ...

n chain of just under 80

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 ...

s and

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 ...

s in the southern

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 ...

. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to southeast) over an area roughly the size of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Their combined land area is . This

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

's major islands are

Anaa Anaa, Nganaa-nui (or Ara-ura) is an atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago, in French Polynesia. It is located in the north-west of the archipelago, 350 km to the east of Tahiti. It is oval in shape, 29.5 km in length and 6.5 km wide, ...

Fakarava Fakarava, Havaiki-te-araro, Havai'i or Farea is an atoll in the west of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is the second largest of the Tuamotu atolls. The nearest land is Toau, a coral atoll which lies to the northwest. The atoll is ro ...

, Hao and

Makemo Makemo, Rangi-kemo or Te Paritua, is an atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago in French Polynesia. History Makemo is the home of legendary Polynesian hero Moeava. The first recorded European to arrive to Makemo Atoll was English pearl merchant Jo ...

. The Tuamotus have approximately 16,000 inhabitants. The islands were initially settled by

Polynesians Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...

, and modern Tuamotuans have inherited from them a shared

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and the

Tuamotuan language Tuamotuan, Paumotu or Paumotu (Tuamotuan: ' or ') is a Polynesian language spoken by 4,000 people in the Tuamotu archipelago, with an additional 2,000 speakers in Tahiti. The Tuamotu people today refer to their land as Tuamotu, while referring ...

. The Tuamotus are a

French overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies ...

History

The early history of the Tuamotu islands is generally unknown. Archaeological findings suggest that the western Tuamotus were settled from the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

as early as 900 CE or as late as 1200 CE. DNA evidence suggests that they were settled about 1110 CE. On the islands of

Rangiroa Rangiroa ( Tuamotuan for 'vast sky') or Te Kokōta ( Cook Islands Māori for 'the Hyades star cluster') is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus and one of the largest in the world (smaller than Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands and Huvadhu in t ...

Manihi Manihi, or Paeua, is a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago, part of French Polynesia. It is one of the northernmost of the Tuamotus, located in the King George subgroup. The closest land to Manihi is Ahe Atoll, located 14 km to the west. ...

and

Mataiva Mataiva (meaning "Nine Eyes" in Tuamotuan), Tepoetiriura ("Sparkling Pearl")marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

'') made of coral blocks, although their exact age is unknown. The first known European encounter with the Tuamotus was with the Portuguese sailor

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...

, during his circumglobal voyage in 1521, undertaken in the service of the Spanish Crown. His encounter was followed by visits from several other Europeans, including: *Portuguese sailor

Pedro Fernandes de Queirós Pedro Fernandes de Queirós ( es, Pedro Fernández de Quirós) (1563–1614) was a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. He is best known for his involvement with Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 1595–1 ...

in 1606, sailing in the service of the Spanish Crown; *Dutch mariners

Willem Schouten Willem Cornelisz Schouten ( – 1625) was a Dutch navigator for the Dutch East India Company. He was the first to sail the Cape Horn route to the Pacific Ocean. Biography Willem Cornelisz Schouten was born in c. 1567 in Hoorn, Holland, Seven ...

and

Jacob Le Maire Jacob Le Maire (c. 1585 – 22 December 1616) was a Dutch mariner who circumnavigated the earth in 1615 and 1616. The strait between Tierra del Fuego and Isla de los Estados was named the Le Maire Strait in his honour, though not without controvers ...

in 1616; *

Jacob Roggeveen Jacob Roggeveen (1 February 1659 – 31 January 1729) was a Dutch explorer who was sent to find Terra Australis and Davis Land, but instead found Easter Island (called so because he landed there on Easter Sunday). Jacob Roggeveen also found Bora ...

(who also first sighted

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

) in 1722; *

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; *

Louis Antoine de Bougainville Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolution ...

in 1768; *

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

during his first voyage in 1769; *Spanish navigator

Domingo de Bonechea 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 Spanis ...

in 1774 and *Russian expedition of

Otto von Kotzebue Otto von Kotzebue (russian: О́тто Евста́фьевич Коцебу́, tr. ; – ) was a Russian officer and navigator in the Imperial Russian Navy. He was born in Reval. He was known for his explorations of Oceania. Early life ...

in 1815. None of these visits were of political consequence, as the islands were within the sphere of influence of the

Pōmare Dynasty The Pōmare dynasty was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Tahiti between the unification of the islands by Pōmare I in 1788 and Pōmare V's cession of the kingdom to France in 1880. Their influence once spanned most of the Society Islands, ...

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 ...

. The first Christian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

arrived in the islands at the beginning of the 19th century. By the late 19th century, traders had begun offering

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s from the islands for sale in Europe, and they became coveted possessions there. France forced the abdication of King

Pōmare V Pōmare V (3 November 1839 – 12 June 1891) was the last monarch of Tahiti, reigning from 1877 until his forced abdication in 1880. He was the son of Queen Pōmare IV. Biography He was born as Teri'i Tari'a Te-rā-tane and became Heir Apparen ...

of Tahiti and claimed the islands, but did not formally annex them.

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

and

Fanny Stevenson Frances "Fanny" Matilda Van de Grift Osbourne Stevenson (10 March 1840 – 18 February 1914) was an American magazine writer. She became a supporter and later the wife of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the mother of Isobel Osbourne, Samuel Lloyd ...

travelled among the Taumotus (then called the Paumotus) on the yacht ''Casco'' in 1888; an account of their journey was published as ''In the South Seas''.

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

wrote a story, "

The Seed of McCoy ''South Sea Tales'' (1911) is a collection of short stories written by Jack London. Most stories are set in island communities, like those of Hawaii, or are set aboard a ship. List of Stories * The House of Mapuhi * The Whale Tooth * Mauki *" ...

", based on an incident in 1900 in which a burning ship, the ''Pyrenees'', had been safely beached on

Mangareva Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent pop ...

. In the story, London has the ship sail past Mangareva and all through the Tuamotus before beaching on

. The Tuamotus made headlines around the world in 1947, when the Norwegian ethnographer

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...

, sailing from South America with a crew of five others, reached

Raroia Raroia, or Raro-nuku, is an atoll of the Tuamotus chain in French Polynesia, located 740 km northeast of Tahiti and 6 km southwest of Takume. Administratively it is a part of the commune of Makemo. The oval-shaped atoll measures 43 ...

on his raft ''

Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, fo ...

''. The islands were in the news again somewhat later, when France conducted

nuclear weapons testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, Nuclear weapon yield, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detona ...

on the atolls of

Moruroa Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll ...

and

Fangataufa Fangataufa (or Fangatafoa) is an uninhabited coral atoll in the eastern part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. The atoll has been fully-owned by the French state since 1964. From 1966 to 1996 it was used as a nuclear test site by th ...

Administrative divisions

is a semi-autonomous island group designated as an

overseas country The special territories of members of the European Economic Area (EEA) are the 32 special territories of EU member states and EFTA member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The Tuamotus combine with the

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

to form the ''

Îles Tuamotu-Gambier The Îles Tuamotu-Gambier (french: Îles Tuamotu-Gambier or ''Archipels des Tuamotu et des Gambier'' or ''Archipel des Tuamotu-Gambier'' or ''Tuamotu-Gambier'' or officially ''subdivision administrative des (Îles) Tuamotu-Gambier'') is an administ ...

'' which is one of the five

administrative divisions of French Polynesia In French Polynesia, there are two levels of administrative divisions: five administrative subdivisions (french: subdivisions administratives) and 48 communes.communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

;

Arutua Arutua, or Ngaru-atua is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located 40 km SW of Rangiroa. The closest land is Apataki Atoll, only 16 km to the East. Arutua Atoll has a roughly pentagonal shape. Length , width ...

;

Fangatau Fangatau, or Nakai-erua, is a small atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. The nearest land is Fakahina Atoll, located 72 km to the ESE. This small atoll has an elongated shape. Its length is , maximum width . It has a total area ...

; Hao;

Hikueru Hikueru, Tiveru, or Te Kārena, is one of the Central Tuamotu atolls. The closest land to Hikueru is Tekokota Atoll, located 22 km to the north. Hikueru Atoll's shape is roughly oval and it is 15 km in length and 9.5 km in width. ...

;

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 ...

; Nukutavake; Puka Puka;

;

Reao Reao or Natūpe is an atoll in the eastern expanses of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. The closest land is Pukarua Atoll, located 48 km to the WNW. Reao is 24.5 km long and its maximum width is 5 km. The whole length o ...

;

Takaroa Takaroa, Taka-roa or Takapua, is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It has a length of and a width of ; its land area is . The nearest land is Takapoto Atoll, located to the southwest. Fine pearls, including black pearls, ...

;

Tatakoto Tatakoto is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. Tatakoto is one of the more isolated atolls of the Tuamotus. It is situated in the east of the archipelago, from Tahiti. This atoll is long and wide. It has one large island and ...

; and

Tureia Tureia (also called Papahena) is an atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. Tureia atoll is 15 km long and has a maximum width of ; its total land area is 8 km2. A very long island covers completely its eastern reef. The lago ...

Electoral divisions

The communes on Tuamotu are part of two different electoral districts (''circonscriptions électorales'') represented in the

Assembly of French Polynesia The Assembly of French Polynesia (french: Assemblée de la Polynésie française, Tahitian: Te apo'ora'a rahi o te fenua Mā'ohi) is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. It is located at Plac ...

. The electoral district called ''Îles Gambier et Tuamotu Est'' comprises the commune of Gambier and eleven communes in eastern Tuamotu: Anaa, Fangatau, Hao, Hikueru, Makemo, Napuka, Nukutavake, Pukapuka, Reao, Tatakoto, and Tureia. The other five communes in western Tuamotu – Arutua, Fakarava, Manihi, Rangiroa, and Takaroa – form the electoral district called ''Îles Tuamotu Ouest''.

Geography

Despite the vast spread of the archipelago, it covers a total land area of only about . The climate is a warm tropical one, without sharply distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is a relatively continuous . Water sources such as lakes or rivers are absent, leaving catchments of rain as the only source of fresh water. The annual average rainfall is . Although average rainfall is lowest in September and November, it does not vary markedly throughout the year. The archipelago is geologically highly stable, because it was created by the action of the Easter Fracture Zone, which is only weakly active. There have been no volcanic eruptions during recorded history.

Flora and fauna

The sparse soil of the coral islands does not support diverse vegetation. The

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

palm, which is the basis of

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

production, is of special economic importance. On a few of the islands,

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

is also cultivated. Agriculture is generally otherwise limited to simple subsistence. Fruit and vegetable staples include yams,

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

, and a wide range of tropical fruit.

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

leaves are traditionally woven together to make mats, hats, and roof

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

es. However, many of the roofs nowadays are made of corrugated sheet-metal. The species-rich reefs are home to a diverse range of underwater fauna. The surface creatures are primarily

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, and

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s. The Tuamotus have 86 species of birds, ten of which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

, including the Tuamotu kingfisher, the Tuamotu reed warbler, and the

Tuamotu sandpiper The Tuamotu sandpiper (''Prosobonia parvirostris'') is an endangered member of the large wader family Scolopacidae, that is endemic to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus ''Aechmorhynchus''. A na ...

. Thirteen species are globally threatened, and one has gone extinct.

Geology

All of the islands of the Tuamotus are coral "low islands": essentially high sand bars built upon coral

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

Makatea Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus, which is a part of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. It is located southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser gro ...

, southwest of the Palliser Islands, is one of three great

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

rocks in the

. (The others are

Banaba BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 Ac ...

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

, and the island nation of

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

.) Although the

are geographically part of the Tuamotus because they lie at the southeastern extreme of the

, they are

geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

and

culturally Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

distinct. The ring-shaped atoll

Taiaro Taiaro, or Maro-taua, is a small atoll in the west of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is one of the smallest of the Tuamotu atolls. Taiaro lies 42 km to the northeast of Raraka Atoll. The shape of Taiaro Atoll is roughly a polyg ...

, which lies in the northwestern portion of the archipelago, is a rare example of a coral reef that has a fully enclosed lagoon. Taiaro has been officially designated a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

since 1977.

Island groups

The Tuamotu archipelago consists of eight groups of small islands and atolls:

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 g ...

Puka-Puka Puka-Puka is a small coral atoll in the north-eastern Tuamotu Archipelago, sometimes included as a member of the Disappointment Islands. This atoll is quite isolated, the nearest land being Fakahina, 182 km to the southwest. Puka-Puka Ato ...

Tepoto (North) Tepoto, also known as Te Poto, Toho, or Pukapoto, is a coral island. It is the northwesternmost of the Disappointment Islands, in the Tuamotu Archipelago. Despite being often referred to as "atoll", Tepoto is not a typical Tuamotu atoll, but a s ...

(

Tepoto Nord Tepoto, also known as Te Poto, Toho, or Pukapoto, is a coral island. It is the northwesternmost of the Disappointment Islands, in the Tuamotus, Tuamotu Archipelago. Despite being often referred to as "atoll", Tepoto is not a typical Tuamotu atol ...

)

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 ...

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. Anuanura ...

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 ...

Hereheretue Hereheretue or Hiri-oro is an atoll in French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean. It is the northernmost island of the Duke of Gloucester Islands group, or Îles du Duc de Gloucester, a subgroup of the Tuamotu group. Hereheretue's nearest neighbour is ...

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 ...

Far East Tuamotu Group

Akiaki Akiaki is a low coral atoll in the eastern area of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Akiaki's nearest neighbor is Vahitahi, which is located 41 km to the southeast. Akiaki is a small atoll rising barely above sea level. The total ...

Fakahina Fakahina, or Kaīna, is a small atoll in the north of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. The nearest land is Fangatau Atoll, located 72 km to the north-west. Fakahina's length is and its maximum width . It has a land area of and a la ...

* Nukutavake *

Pinaki Pinaki,Te Kiekie or Artomix is a small atoll of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. Geographically Pinaki Atoll is part of the East-central subgroup of the Tuamotus, which includes Ahunui, Amanu, Fangatau, Hao and Nukutavake. Geography Th ...

Pukarua Pukarua, sometimes also listed as "Pukaruha" (especially on French maps), is a coral atoll in the eastern Tuamotu Archipelago. The nearest atoll, Reao, is located 48 km to the ESE. Pukarua Atoll is 17 km long and its maximum width is ...

Tematangi Tematagi or TematangiBoard of Geographical Names Site Internet: http://geonames.usgs.gov/foreign/index.html is an atoll in the southeastern area of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Tematagi's nearest neighbour is Mururoa, which is loca ...

Vahitahi Vahitahi, or ''Vaitake'', is an atoll in the eastern area of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Vahitahi's nearest neighbour is Akiaki, which is located to the northwest. Vahitahi is a small atoll with an elongated oval shape. It mea ...

Vairaatea Vairaatea is a small atoll of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. Geographically Vairaatea Atoll is part of the East-central subgroup of the Tuamotus, which includes Ahunui, Amanu, Fangatau, Hao and Nukutavake. Nukutavake, the closest la ...

Vanavana Vanavana, Kurataki, or Huataki is an atoll in the southeastern area of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Vanavana's nearest neighbour is Tureia, which is located to the east. Vanavana is a small oval-shaped atoll. It measures approxim ...

Hao Group

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 ...

Amanu Amanu, Timanu, or Karere, is an atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago. Amanu lies at right angles to neighbouring Hao Atoll; this orientation is quite rare for the Tuamotu atolls. It is situated 900 km east of Tahiti and 15 km north of Hao ...

* Hao *

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 ...

Nengonengo Nengonengo is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 53 km southeast of Ravahere, its closest neighbor, and 100 km southwest of Hao Atoll. Nengonengo Atoll is roughly bell-shaped. It measures 13&nbs ...

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 ...

Rekareka Rekareka, Tehuata or Tu-henua, is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located in the Centre East of the group, 83 km southeast from Raroia, and lies 70 km NW of Tauere, its nearest neighbor. The shoal water ...

(

Tehuata Rekareka, Tehuata or Tu-henua, is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located in the Centre East of the group, 83 km southeast from Raroia, and lies 70 km NW of Tauere, its nearest neighbor. The shoal water ...

) *

Tauere Tauere Atoll or Taouere, also known as Te Putua, is a small atoll of the central Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located northwest of Hao Atoll's westernmost point. Tauere Atoll is squarish in shape. It measures across. The i ...

Hikueru Group

Marokau Marokau is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It lies 53 km southeast of Hikueru Atoll and it is separated by a 2 km wide sound from Ravahere, its closest neighbor in the south. Marokau and Ravahere form a minor ...

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 ...

Reitoru Reitoru, or Te Pirehi, is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located in center of the archipelago, 50 km southwest of Hikueru. The inner lagoon is closed and is inaccessible from the ocean. The total surfa ...

Tekokota Tekokota is one of the Central Tuamotu atolls, located close to the geographic center of the archipelago. Tekokota Atoll is one of the smallest atolls of the Tuamotus. Its islands have a total land mass of only . Tekokota's shape is roughly ova ...

King George Islands The King George Islands (''Îles du Roi Georges'') is a subgroup of the Tuamotus Archipelago group in French Polynesia. The King George Islands include four atolls and one island: * Ahe * Manihi * Takapoto * Takaroa * Tikei Island Tikei ...

Ahe Ahe, Ahemaru or Omaru, is a coral atoll in the northern Tuamotus, Tuamotu Archipelago, 14 km to the west of Manihi, in French Polynesia. Its ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon. It has a land area of approxi ...

Takapoto Takapoto, Tua-poto or Oura, is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It has a length of and a width of . The nearest land is Takaroa Atoll, located to the northeast. Takapoto's lagoon has a high salinity and a strong phytoplank ...

Tikei Tikei, also known as Manu, Tikai and Tiku is an island in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. Tikei is not a typical Tuamotu atoll, but a separate island. The island is long, wide, and has a land area of . Its highest elevation is above s ...

Palliser Islands The Palliser Islands or Pallisers are a subgroup of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located in the very northwest of the main group of atolls. Atolls The group includes: * Apataki Arutua Fakarava * Kaukura Mataiva Rangiroa *M ...

Apataki Apataki is a coral atoll in the South Pacific Ocean, territorially part of French Polynesia. It is one of the Palliser Islands, a subgroup of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Apataki is located approximately northeast of the island of Tahiti, east of ...

Avatika Avatika is an uninhabited island near Avatoru in the Tuamotus Islands in French Polynesia (Oceania). The neighbouring islands are Motu Mahuta and Motu Teavahia and together they form part of the Rangiroa, Rangiroa atoll. See also * Desert isl ...

Kaukura Kaukura or Kaheko is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia, long and wide. It is in the western area of the archipelago, southeast of Rangiroa. The closest land is Apataki Atoll, to the northeast. Kaukura Atoll is elongated ...

Mataiva Mataiva (meaning "Nine Eyes" in Tuamotuan), Tepoetiriura ("Sparkling Pearl")Niau Niau is a small atoll in French Polynesia, in the commune of Fakarava (Tuamotu archipelago). This atoll has a broad fringing reef, a diameter of 8 km and an area of 53 km2. Niau's lagoon is swampy, hypersaline and entirely enclosed. Th ...

Toau Toau, Pakuria, or Taha-a-titi is a coral atoll in French Polynesia, one of the Palliser Islands (Îles Pallisier). Toau has a wide lagoon; length , width . The nearest land is Fakarava Atoll, located to the southeast. Toau Atoll had a pop ...

Tikehau Tikehau (meaning ''Peaceful Landing'' in TuamotuanOfficial Tikehau Tourism Site< ...

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 ...

Aratika Aratika is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. The nearest land is Kauehi Atoll, located 35 km to the south east. Aratika has an unusual butterfly shape. Its length is and its maximum width . It has a land area of appro ...

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. ...

Haraiki Haraiki is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 42 km southwest of Marutea Nord. Haraiki Atoll is roughly triangular in shape. It measures 7 km in length with a maximum width of 5 km. There ...

Hiti Hiti, or Hiti-rau-mea, is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 19 km southwest of Makemo Atoll. Hiti Atoll is oval in shape. It measures 9 km in length with a maximum width of 6 km. There ar ...

Katiu Katiu, or Taungataki, is an atoll of the central Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located west of Makemo Atoll's westernmost point. It measures in length with a maximum width of . Its total area, including the lagoon is and a ...

Kauehi Kauehi, or Putake, is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. The nearest land is Raraka Atoll, located 17 km to the Southeast. Kauehi has a wide lagoon measuring 24 km by 18 km. The atoll has a lagoon area of , and a ...

Marutea Nord Marutea, or Taunga tauranga-e-havana, is one of the Tuamotu atolls in French Polynesia. It is located 24 km to the southeast of Makemo Atoll and 30 km southwest of Nihiru Atoll. Marutea Atoll measures 42 km in length with a maxi ...

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 ...

Nihiru Nihiru, or Nikia, is one of the Tuamotu atolls in French Polynesia. It is a relatively small atoll located 49 km to the east of Makemo Atoll and 30 km northeast of Marutea Atoll. Nihiru Atoll is roughly triangular in shape. It measu ...

Raraka Raraka, or Te Marie, is an atoll in the west of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It lies 17 km to the southeast of Kauehi Atoll. The shape of Raraka Atoll is an oval 27 km long and 19 km wide. Its fringing reef has many sand ...

Taenga Taenga, or Taunga-hara, is one of the Tuamotu atolls in French Polynesia. It is located 32 km to the northeast of Makemo Atoll and 27 km to the northwest of Nihiru Atoll. Taenga Atoll is roughly triangular in shape. It measures 27&n ...

Tahanea Tahanea Atoll is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located to the east of Faaite Atoll. Tahanea Atoll measures in length with a maximum width of . The southern reef fringing the atoll is wider than the northern o ...

Takume Takume or Pukamaru is an atoll of the Tuamotus chain in French Polynesia, located 790 km northeast of Tahiti and 6 km northeast of Raroia and to the west of Fangatau. This elongated atoll measures . Its lagoon has an area of Taku ...

Tepoto (South) Tepoto Atoll (Tepoto Sud), or Ti Poto, is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located southwest of Makemo Atoll. Tepoto Atoll is almost round in shape. It measures in diameter. Its lovely turquoise-blue lagoon ...

(

Tepoto Sud Tepoto Atoll (Tepoto Sud), or Ti Poto, is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located southwest of Makemo Atoll. Tepoto Atoll is almost round in shape. It measures in diameter. Its lovely turquoise-blue lagoon ...

) *

Tuanake Tuanake or Mata-rua-puna is a small atoll located in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. He made up the Raevski Islands subgroup with Tepoto Sud and Hiti. It is administratively attached to the municipality of Makemo. Geography Tuanak ...

Related island groups include: * The

Gambier Group The Gambier Group is an Early Cretaceous aged geologic group in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It was formed on the easternmost point of the Wrangellia Terrane as a volcanic arc about 100 million years ago along a west-to ...

: Akamaru;

Angakauitai Angakauitai is an island of the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia.Aukena Aukena is the 5th largest of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. Aukena is located about halfway between Mangareva and Akamaru, or about 5 km southeast of Mangareva. Aukena is approximately 2.5 km long and about 0.5 km wide, ...

; Kamaka;

Kouaku Kouaku is an island of the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia. See also * Desert island * List of islands References

{{coord, 23.2092, S, 134.8589, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:FR, display=title Islands of the Gambi ...

;

Makapu Makapu is an island of the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia. See also * Desert island * List of islands References {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub Islands of the Gambier Islands Uninhabited islands of French Polynesia ...

; Makaroa;

;

Manui Manui is an island of the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia. In 2015 a conservation campaign resulted in the eradication of rats from the island. References

{{coord, 23.2319, S, 134.9456, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_reg ...

;

Mekiro Mekiro is an island of the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia. See also * Desert island * List of islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a s ...

; Papuri;

Puaumu Puaumu is an island of the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia. See also * Desert island * 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 waterbo ...

;

Taravai Taravai is the second largest island in the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia, at 5.7 km2. Taravai is about 1.5 km southwest of Mangareva and about 300 m north of the island of Angakauitai. Off its eastern shore lies the tiny rock � ...

;

Tokorua Tokorua is an island of the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia. The name means "companion, mate" (or two – as it does in Māori) in the local Mangareva language. See also * Desert island * List of islands This is a list of the lists of ...

; and Totengengie. * The Outer Gambier Group:

Marutea Sud Marutea Atoll (Marutea Sud), also known as Lord Hood Island, Marutea-i-runga, and Nuku-nui, is an atoll in the far southeast of the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia. It lies in the east-northeast part of the Gambier (commune), about 72 km ...

;

Maria Est Maria Atoll is an uninhabited small atoll of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located in the far southeast of the archipelago, about southwest from Marutea Sud. Maria's closest neighbour is the small atoll of Matureivavao of the Act ...

; Morane; and Temoe. * The

Acteon Group The Acteon Group (Groupe Actéon) is a rather isolated and uninhabited subgroup in the far southeast of the Tuamotu atoll group in French Polynesia. It is located about east-southeast of Tahiti at latitude: 21° 17' 60 S, longitude: 136° 29' ...

Matureivavao Matureivavao, or Maturei-vavao is an uninhabited atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. It is the largest atoll within the Acteon Group, and like others in this group, is administratively part of the Communes d ...

;

Tenararo Tenararo is the smallest atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia. It is administratively a part of the Gambier Islands. It is uninhabited. Geography Tenararo is located west of Vahanga, t ...

;

Tenarunga Tenarunga or Tenania, previously Narunga and formerly Minto Island is a low, wooded and uninhabited atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia. It is administratively a part of the Gambier Islan ...

; and

Vahanga Vahanga is a small uninhabited atoll part of the Acteon Group in the Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia and belongs to the municipality of the Gambier Islands. Geography Vahanga is located 9 km west of Tenarunga and 1362 km southe ...

Demographics

A little more than fifty atolls are permanently populated; the rest are only occupied sporadically, during the copra harvesting season or as a base for fishing expeditions. The population has grown in the last years due to the fishing boom in the northern part and the extraction of pearls, especially black pearls, in the west and in the center. In any case, most of the inhabitants practice subsistence agriculture. In the 2007 census, there were 15,510 inhabitants in the Tuamotu Islands, a population density of 18

inhabitants Domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law," which includes the law that governs a person's status and their property. It is independent of a person's nationality. Although a domicile may change from time to time, a person has only one ...

/km². The population was 14,876 in 2002 and 8,100 in 1983. In 2002, 769 inhabitants lived within 400 km of the islands of Moruroa and Fangataufa (former nuclear test base). Rangiroa Church

Languages

The official language of the archipelago is French. However, the Tuamotu language, Pa'umotu, is recognized as a regional language of the French Republic. In the Gambier Islands, Mangarevian is spoken, while in Puka Puka a Marquesan dialect is used.

Religion

The majority of the population is Christian, including members of the Catholic Church and various Protestant groups. The Catholic Church administers 42 churches on the islands under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Papeete. In 1833, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

divided the Pacific into two apostolic vicariates: Western Oceania fell to the Marists and Eastern Oceania-which included the Tuamots, Hawaii, Tahiti, the Marquesas and the Cook Islands-was the responsibility of the Picpus missionaries. In 1834, the French Fathers Honoré Laval and François d'Assise Caret arrived in Mangareva. First with the acquiescence and then with the active support of the island chiefs, the Picpusians embarked on an extensive development program for the Gambier Islands. This included the introduction of cotton cultivation, pearl and mother-of-pearl fishing, and the establishment of plantations and orchards. As they were very successful, their missionary activities gradually spread to the other islands of the Tuamotu archipelago. With the missionary work, news of the islands' wealth in pearls also reached Europe, making them a coveted destination for European traders and adventurers.

Economy

The islands' economy is predominantly based on

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

. The most important sources of additional income are the cultivation of black pearls and the preparation of

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

-related income remains meager, especially compared to the income generated by tourism in the neighboring

. Modest tourism infrastructure is found on the atolls of

and

, which offer recreational

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

and

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a ...

destinations. The inhabitants of Tuamotu produce 75% of the copra of French Polynesia. It is a subsidized family activity and the only resource of the atolls farthest from the center and east. Fishing is a major activity in the atolls closest to Tahiti (Rangiroa, Arutua, Apataki), which supply the central market of Papeete.

References

External links

* Stevenson, Robert L. (1896),
In the South Seas
'
Official site (Tahiti Tourism board)Official site (Geography)Official site (Administration)Archipel des Tuamotu
{{Authority control Eastern Indo-Pacific Marine ecoregions