Nukutepipi, or Nuku-te-pipi 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 gr ...

in French Polynesia,

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 contin ...

. It is part of the Duke of Gloucester Islands, a subgroup of the

Tuamotu 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 ...

group. Nukutepipi's nearest neighbor is Anuanurunga, which is located about 22 km to the WNW. Nukutepipi is a very small atoll. It is roughly triangular-shaped, measuring approximately 2.7 km in length. Its reef is quite broad, enclosing completely the small lagoon, which has a deep area at its centre. There are two relatively large islands on its reef, one on its eastern side and the other on the northwest. Nukutepipi Atoll was once inhabited but is currently not. It has a small airfield which was inaugurated in 1982. It is now owned by Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberté. Nukutepipi Map

History

First sighting recorded by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of

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 ...

on 4 February 1606. With the other three atolls of the Duke of Gloucester Islands they were named ''Cuatro Coronas'' (Four Crowns in Spanish). British naval officer and explorer

Philip Carteret Rear-Admiral Philip Carteret, Seigneur of Trinity (22 January 1733, Trinity Manor, Jersey – 21 July 1796, Southampton) was a British naval officer and explorer who participated in two of the Royal Navy's circumnavigation expeditions in 176 ...

visited it on 12 July 1767 who only referred to it in his logs as "the southernmost island". John Turnbull aboard the '' Margaret'' named it "Margaret island" on 6 March 1803 after the ship. Lieutenant Ringgold of the

Wilkes Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

visited the atoll on 6 January 1841. He identified the correct name of the atoll as "Nukutipipi" by the natives. On 13 November 2019, Guy Laliberté's investment firm Lune Rouge stated "Laliberté is being questioned in respect of cultivation of cannabis for his personal use only at the residence on the island of Nukutepipi".

Administration

Administratively the four atolls of the Duke of Gloucester Islands, including the uninhabited ones of Nukutepipi, Anuanuruga, and

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 ...

, belong to the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Hereheretue, which is associated to the Hao commune.

References

Map of Nukutepipi

External links

Atoll list (in French)

{{Tuamotus Atolls of the Tuamotus