Amanu, Timanu, or Karere,
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 gro ...
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 ...
. 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
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 Austra ...
and 15 km north of
Hao. The atoll is 32 km long (northeast to southwest) and 10 km wide, but only 15.55 km
2 of its land is above water, the rest forming the central
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 ...
. The surface area of Amanu's wide lagoon is 240 km
2. There are two navigable passes to enter it.
Amanu has 195 inhabitants. The main village is Ikitake.
History
The first recorded European who arrived at Amanu Atoll was Portuguese navigator
Pedro Fernández de Quirós
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
who navigated for Spain, on 12 February 1606, while sailing across the Pacific Ocean in search of
Terra Australis
(Latin: '"Southern Land'") was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that ...
. However, several 16th-century Spanish cannons were found on Amanu in 1929, indicating that an earlier Spanish expedition had visited Tuamotu. Some historians notably
Robert Adrian Langdon
Robert Langdon (1924–2003) was an Australian scholar known for his work as the executive officer of the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, a part of the Australian National University.
Biography
Langdon was born in Adelaide, served in the Royal ...
believe the cannons belonged to the caravel ''
San Lesmes'', which was split off from the
Loaísa expedition which sailed the Pacific Ocean in 1526.
It was later visited by Spanish explorer
Domingo de Boenechea
Domingo Bernardo Buenechea, de Bonechea Andonaegui ( eu, Domingo Bonetxea Andonaegi), born on September 21, 1713, in Getaria, Gipuzkoa, Getaria, Euskadi, Basque Country, Spain, died in Tahiti on January 26, 1775, was a captain in the Spanish Royal ...
in 1774, that charted them as ''Las Ánimas'' (The Souls in Spanish).
Russian explorer
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen (russian: Фадде́й Фадде́евич Беллинсга́узен, translit=Faddéy Faddéevich Bellinsgáuzen; – ) was a Russian naval officer, cartographer and explorer, who ultimatel ...
visited Amanu in 1820 on ships ''Vostok'' and ''Mirni''. He named this atoll "Moller".
Bellingshausen
/ref>
Administration
Administratively Amanu forms a commune 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 ...
which includes the atolls of 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 ...
(uninhabited) and 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 is ...
.
The Amanu commune is associated with the Hao commune.
References
Oceandots
External links
Atolls of the Tuamotus
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub