Anaa, Nganaa-nui (or Ara-ura) 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 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 Arch ...

, 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 ...

. It is located in the north-west of the archipelago, 350 km to the 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 ...

. It is oval in shape, 29.5 km in length and 6.5 km wide, with a total land area of 38 km² and a population of 504. The atoll is made up by eleven small barren islands with deeper and more fertile soil than other atolls in the Tuamotus. The lagoon is shallow, without entrance, and formed by three main basins. Although it does not have any navigable access, the water of the lagoon renews by several small channels that can be crossed walking.

History

The atoll of Anaa was known by the legendary cruelty of its soldiers who in the seventeenth century, dominated the north-west of the Tuamotus. The Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós landed on ''Conversión de San Pablo'' on 10 February 1606, since identified as either Anaa or Hao. The sighting of Anaa was recorded by French explorer

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 Revolutio ...

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 and ...

sighted it in 1769. Because of its shape, he called it ''Chain Island''. Later, Anaa was visited by Spanish explorer Domingo de Bonechea, on November 1 of 1772, who called it ''Isla de Todos los Santos'' (All Saints Island) because they arrived on

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are k ...

. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, control of the atoll went to the Pomaré of Tahiti. Around 1850 Anaa was an active center of the

nacre Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

commerce and

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 co ...

, with a maximum population of 2,000. The missionary competition between

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into sever ...

of North America and French Catholics led to a revolt in 1852, and an intervention by French colonial troops. In 1878 and 1906 Anaa suffered severe

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

damages and was completely flooded. After the hurricane of 1983, the only village was moved and reconstructed, incorporating a refuge shelter with capacity for all its population. Anaa has a territorial airport which was inaugurated in 1976.

Geography

Anaa is located 66 km south of Faaite

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 ...

, 78 km from Tahanea Atoll and 377 km east of

; and is an oval atoll 29.5 km long and 6.5 km wide, with a total area of 38 km². The coral reef is made up of eleven islets with deeper and more fertile soil than the other atolls of the Tuamotu, of which nine are named: Kereteki, Mania, Omanaotika, Oparari, Otepipi, Putuahara, Teharie, Tematahoa and Tukuhora. The lagoon is shallow, with no navigable passages to the ocean, and consists of 3 main basins. Although it has no navigable passages, the lagoon water is renewed by several shallow channels that can be crossed on foot.

Geology

Geologically, the atoll is the coral outgrowth (105 meters) of the top of a large volcanic seamount of the same name (the "Anaa Ridge", 11,438 m3), measuring 3,415 meters from the seafloor, formed some 52.5-59.6 million years ago.

Fauna and flora

The atoll is home to an endemic population of long-billed warblers and its lagoon has colonies of Cardium fragum.

Tuuhora

The main village is Tuuhora, also called Tukuhora or Anaa, with a population of about 350. The other small villages like Temarie, Otepipi, Mania and Tematahoa have small seasonal population. The population subsists mainly on fishing, the cultivation of

and the production of

Demography

The population was 497 in 2012, and lives mainly from fishing, mother-of-pearl farming and copra production. Anaa - Laurent Seignobos 2

In 2017, the total population of Anaa was 494 people and its evolution is as follows:

Religion

In 1850, Anaa was an active mother-of-pearl and copra trading centre, with a maximum population of 2000 people. In 1852, French colonial troops intervened, following an uprising resulting from competition between North American Mormons and French Catholics. Today, most of the population is affiliated with Christianity. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

owns a religious building on the atoll (on Tukuhora) called St. Joseph's Church (''Église de Saint-Joseph'') which is under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of

Papeete Papeete ( Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subd ...

based in

Economy

Most of the atoll's

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

activity is related to fishing and

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in the hoas6, as well as copra production, with coconut plantations cultivated on virtually every motus (islets). Anaa has an

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

(IATA code: AAA) near the main town of Tukuhora with a runway 1,400 meters long. On average, it handles about 140

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

s and 3,500 passengers per year.

Commune of Anaa

The atoll Anaa is part of the commune (municipality) Anaa, that is part of the administrative subdivision of 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 ...

.Décret n° 2005-1611 du 20 décembre 2005 pris pour l'application du statut d'autonomie de la Polynésie française

Légifrance Légifrance is the official website of the French government for the publication of legislation, regulations, and legal information. Access to the site is free. Virtually complete, it presents or refers to all concerned institutions or administrat ...

This commune also includes the associated atoll of

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. ...

and the uninhabited atolls of

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 on ...

and

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 ...

.Décret n°72-407 du 17 mai 1972 portant création de communes dans le territoire de la Polynésie française

The seat of the commune is the village Tuuhora.

Overview

Faaite

Faaite is an atoll located 60 km to the north of Anaa. The total surface of the atoll is of 230 km². Its dry land area has a surface of 9 km². The inner lagoon has a navigable channel to the ocean. The main village is Hitianau, with a total population of 246. It was discovered by John Turnbull in 1802, the first retailer of the Pacific who used the route of Tahiti to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Historically the atoll also has been known as Miloradovich.

Tahanea

Tahanea is an atoll of 63 km², with three passages towards the interior of the lagoon. It is uninhabited and is visited occasionally. It was discovered by Domingo Bonaechea in 1772, who called it San Julian. It has also been known as Tchitschagof.

Motutunga

Motutunga is an uninhabited atoll, with a passage to the interior of the nonnavigable lagoon. Domingo Bonaechea called it San Blas. It has also been known as Adventure Island.

References

External links

Atoll list (in French)Oceandots
{{authority control Communes of French Polynesia Atolls of the Tuamotus