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Tuamotus
The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (, 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 Rangiroa, 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 Mataiva, there ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rangiroa
Rangiroa ( Tuamotuan for 'vast sky') or Te Kokōta (Cook Islands Māori Cook Islands Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language that is the official language of the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Māori is closely related to, but distinct from, New Zealand Māori. Cook Islands Māori is called just Māori when there i ... for 'the Hyades (star cluster), 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 Atoll, Huvadhu in the Maldives). It is in French Polynesia and is part of the Palliser Islands, 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 Motu (geography), motus, islets and sandbars comprising a total land area of about . There are approximately one hundred narr ... [...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 Pa‘umotu people today refer to their islands as Tuamotu while referring to themselves and their language as Pa‘umotu (or Paumotu). Pa‘umotu is one of six Polynesian languages spoken in French Polynesia, the other five languages being Tahitian, Marquesan, Mangarevan, Rapa, and Austral. The Pa‘umotu alphabet is based on the Latin script. About the language 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 arrived in 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 expedi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mataiva
Mataiva (meaning "Nine Eyes" in Tuamotuan language, 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 Tuamotus, Tuamotu Archipelago. It is located in the Palliser Islands, Palliser group, and is the westernmost of the Tuamotus. The nearest atoll, Tikehau, is located 35 km to the east. Rangiroa is located 79 km to the east, and Tahiti is 311 km to the south. Geography [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 1,066 inhabitants in the 2012 census, with a strong demographic increase ... [...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 explor ... [...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 648 inhabitants (2022 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] |
French Polynesia
French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The total land area of French Polynesia is , with a population of 278,786 (Aug. 2022 census) of which at least 205,000 live in the Society Islands and the remaining population lives in the rest of the archipelago. French Polynesia is divided into five island groups: the Austral Islands; the Gambier Islands; the Marquesas Islands; the Society Islands (comprising the Leeward Islands (Society Islands), Leeward and Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward Islands); and the Tuamotus. Among its 121 islands and atolls, 75 were inhabited at the 2017 census. Tahiti, which is in the Society Islands group, is the most populous island, being home to nearly 69% of the population of French Polynesia . Papeete, located on Tahiti, is the capital of French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makemo
Makemo, Rangi-kemo or Te Paritua, is an inhabited 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 (1799 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 Overseas France, 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 Dioc ... [...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] |
Polynesia
Polynesia ( , ) 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 Polynesian languages, linguistic relations, Polynesian culture, cultural practices, and Tradition, traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and Polynesian navigation, using stars to navigate at night. The term was first used in 1756 by the French writer Charles de Brosses, who originally applied it to all the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, islands of the Pacific. In 1831, Jules Dumont d'Urville proposed a narrower definition during a lecture at the Société de Géographie of Paris. By tradition, the islands located in the South Seas, southern Pacific have also often been called the South Sea Islands, and their inhabitants have been called South Sea Islanders. The Hawai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of French Polynesia
Historical Background and Adoption The flag of French Polynesia features a stylized canoe with five figures under a golden sun on blue waves, symbolizing the region’s cultural identity, maritime heritage, and the unity of its five archipelagos under longstanding French administration. The flag of French Polynesia, adopted officially on 23 November 1984 and replaced the old national flag that was officially adopted in 1958. It is a relatively new national symbol that reflects the region’s changing political and cultural identity. Although it remains an overseas collectivity of France, various political and cultural developments throughout the 20th century contributed to the emergence of local symbols of identity, including the flag. According to the articles of adoption, the flag of French Polynesia must be displayed with the French tricolor, and may be displayed with the flags of the component archipelagos. The French Polynesian flag must be displayed to the left of the F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), the Pacific Ocean is the largest division of the World Ocean and the hydrosphere and covers approximately 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area, larger than its entire land area ().Pacific Ocean . ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica Concise.'' 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The centers of both the Land and water hemispheres, water hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, as well as the Pole of inaccessi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
