Ahe, Ahemaru or Omaru, 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 se ...

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 gro ...

in the northern

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 ...

, 14 km to the west of

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. ...

, 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 French ...

. Its ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon. It has a land area of approximately 12 km² and a lagoon area of 138 km². , Ahe Atoll had 553 inhabitants. The only village in Ahe is Tenukupara with approximately 100 inhabitants. It is located on an island in the south side of the Atoll. The Atoll is part of the

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 is ...

(Iles du Roi Georges) subgroup, which includes Ahe,

, Takapoto,

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, ...

and

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 sea ...

. There are several

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 ...

farms in Ahe's

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...

History

The first recorded Europeans to arrive to Ahe Atoll were 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, S ...

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 controver ...

in 1616. Ahe was later visited by the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842.

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...

called the atoll "Peacock Island" after one of the ships of the expedition. This atoll has sometimes suffered damage caused by

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an an ...

s. In the late 1970s, sailor

Bernard Moitessier Bernard Moitessier (April 10, 1925 – June 16, 1994) was a French sailor, most notable for his participation in the 1968 ''Sunday Times'' Golden Globe Race, the first non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race. With the fastest circumn ...

lived on Ahe for two years.

Demographics

Population of Ahe:

Administration

Ahe Atoll belongs to the commune of Manihi, which consists of the atolls of Manihi and Ahe.Tahiti Tourisme

References

External links

Ahe Atoll FP (EVS Islands)Shuttle Image ISS008-E-17141 (Astronaut Photography)Shuttle Image ISS007-E-16671 (Astronaut Photography)
*
TX5EG Amateur Radio DX Expedition to Ahe Atoll
Atolls of the Tuamotus {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub

History

Demographics

Administration

See also

References

External links