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Tuamotus
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, extending (from northwest to southeast) over an area roughly the size of Western Europe. Their combined land area is . This archipelago's major islands are Anaa, Fakarava, Hao and Makemo. The Tuamotus have approximately 16,000 inhabitants. The islands were initially settled by Polynesians, and modern Tuamotuans have inherited from them a shared culture and the Tuamotuan language. The Tuamotus are a French overseas collectivity. History The early history of the Tuamotu islands is generally unknown. Archaeological findings suggest that the western Tuamotus were settled from the Society Islands 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, Manihi and Mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the Maldives). It is in French Polynesia and is part of the Palliser group. The nearest atoll is Tikehau, to the west. It is about northeast of Tahiti. Rangiroa is home to about 2,500 people on almost . The chief town is Avatoru, in the atoll's northwest. Geography and environment The atoll consists of about 415 motus, islets and sandbars comprising a total land area of about . There are approximately one hundred narrow passages (straits or passes), called ''hoa'', in the fringing reef. The atoll has a flattened elliptic shape, with in length and a width ranging from . The width of land reaches wide and its circumference totals up to . The lagoon has a maximum depth of and its surface is . It is so large that it has its own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 to themselves and their language as Paʻumotu. Paʻumotu is one of six Polynesian languages spoken in French Polynesia, the other five languages being Tahitian, Marquesan, Mangarevan, Rapa, and Austral. The Paʻumotu alphabet is based on the Latin script. History and culture Little is known regarding the early history of the Tuamotus. It is believed that they were settled c. 700 AD by people from the Society Islands. Europeans first discovered the islands in 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan reached them while sailing across the Pacific Ocean. Subsequent explorers visited the islands over the centuries, including Thor Heyerdahl, the famous Norwegian ethnographer who sailed the Kon-Tiki expedition across the Pacific in 1947. The eff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mataiva
Mataiva (meaning "Nine Eyes" in Tuamotuan), Tepoetiriura ("Sparkling Pearl")Mataiva, Eden des Tuamotu Publisher: Air Tahiti: Polynesian Airline - News (''in French''). ''Author: Jean-François Butaud''. Accessed 22 February 2010 or Lazarev atoll is a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. It is located in the Palliser group, and is the westernmost of the Tuamotus. The nearest atoll, |
Hao (French Polynesia)
Hao, or Haorangi, is a large coral atoll in the central part of the Tuamotu Archipelago. It has c. 1000 people living on . It was used to house the military support base for the nuclear tests on Mururoa. Because of its shape, French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville named it "Île de la Harpe" (Harp Island). Geography Hao is east of Tahiti. It is long and wide. The lagoon is the fourth largest atoll in French Polynesia (after Rangiroa, Fakarava, and Makemo) and has only one navigable passage, at Kaki, on the north end of the atoll where strong currents prevail up to 20 knots with bores. The lagoon covers an area of 720 km2. The climate is maritime, with temperatures oscillating between 23 and 32 °C throughout the year. The chief town is the village of Otepa, where the main economic activity is the cultivation of pearls. Demography The main village is Otepa, and the population was 1066 inhabitants in the 2012 census, with a strong demographic increase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. The population is 650 inhabitants (2017 census). Geography Manihi is a relatively large elongated atoll. Its oval-shaped lagoon measures 27 km in length and 8 km in width, and is ringed by innumerable islets. The lagoon is well-known among snorkelers for its beautiful and diverse marine fauna, including, among other species, the manta ray. There is only one pass to enter the lagoon, located close to the atoll's southern end. It is known as ''Passe de Tairapa''. The chief village is Paeua. Another important village, Turipaoa, is located in the south-western part of the atoll, and is home to about 400 inhabitants. Several of the islands are inhabited, by populations ranging from single individuals to as many as 400. Demograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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, 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 explo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 roughly rectangular and its length is and its width . Fakarava has a wide and deep lagoon with a surface of and two passes. The main pass to enter the lagoon, located in its north-western end, is known as Passe Garuae and it is the largest pass in French Polynesia; the southern pass is called Tumakohua. It has a land area of . Fakarava has 837 inhabitants; the main village is called Rotoava. History The Pōmare Dynasty originated here before ruling the island of Tahiti. The atoll was first mentioned by a European on 17 July 1820 by the Russian navigator Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who gave it the name Wittgenstein Island. It was visited by the British sailor Ireland on 2 October 1831, who mentioned it under the same name, and then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 John Buyers on the brig ''Margaret''. He arrived at Makemo on 10 March 1803 on the same day he discovered Taenga and named the Makemo Atoll "Phillips Island", after a late sheriff of London, Sir Richard Phillips. In some maps Makemo appears as "Kutusov". In the 19th century, Makemo became a French territory with a population of about 250 indigenous inhabitants around 1850, making it one of the largest in the Tuamotus; it was used as a port for ships. By mid-century, the atoll was evangelized with the founding of St. Joseph Parish in 1851 (which since 2004 also includes churches on Taenga and Nihiru Atolls), followed by the construction of the church of the same name in 1975, attached to the Diocese of Papetee. Legend The legend explain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Polynesia , map_caption = Location of French Polynesia (circled in red) , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , established_title = Protectorate proclaimed , established_date = 9 September 1842 , established_title2 = Territorial status , established_date2 = 27 October 1946 , established_title3 = Collectivity status , established_date3 = 28 March 2003 , established_title4 = Country status (nominal title) , established_date4 = 27 February 2004 , official_languages = French , regional_languages = , capital = Papeete , coordinates = , largest_city = Fa'a'ā , demonym = French Polynesian , ethnic_groups = 66.5% unmixed Polynesians7.1% mixed Polynesians9.3% Demis11. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Southeast Asia and form part of the larger Austronesian ethnolinguistic group with an Urheimat in Taiwan. They speak the Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic subfamily of the Austronesian language family. there were an estimated 2 million ethnic Polynesians (full and part) worldwide, the vast majority of whom either inhabit independent Polynesian nation-states ( Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu) or form minorities in countries such as Australia, Chile (Easter Island), New Zealand, France ( French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna), and the United States (Hawaii and American Samoa), in addition to the British Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands. New Zealand had the highest population of Polynesians, estima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common, including language relatedness, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night. The largest country in Polynesia is New Zealand. The term was first used in 1756 by the French writer Charles de Brosses, who originally applied it to all the islands of the Pacific. In 1831, Jules Dumont d'Urville proposed a narrower definition during a lecture at the Geographical Society of Paris. By tradition, the islands located in the southern Pacific have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 controversy. It was Le Maire himself who proposed to the council aboard ''Eendracht'' that the new passage should be called by his name and the council unanimously agreed with Le Maire. The author or authors of ''The Relation'' took ''Eendracht'' captain Willem Schouten's side by proclaiming: :“ ... our men had each of them three cups of wine in signe of ioy for our good hap ... nd the naming ofthe ''Straights of Le Maire'', although by good right it should rather have been called ''Willem Schouten Straight'', after our Masters Name, by whose wise conduction and skill in sayling, the same was found.”. ''Eendracht'' then rounded Cape Horn, proving that Tierra del Fuego was not a continent. Biography Jacob Le Maire was born in either Antwerp or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
