Ahe, Ahemaru or Omaru, is a

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...

in the northern Tuamotu Archipelago, 14 km to the west of Manihi, in

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 t ...

. Its ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon. It has a land area of approximately 12 km² and a lagoon area of 138 km². , Ahe Atoll had 553 inhabitants. The only village in Ahe is Tenukupara with approximately 100 inhabitants. It is located on an island in the south side of the Atoll. The Atoll is part of the King George Islands (Iles du Roi Georges) subgroup, which includes Ahe, Manihi, Takapoto, Takaroa and Tikei. There are several

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

farms in Ahe's

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'') an ...

History

The first recorded Europeans to arrive to Ahe Atoll were Dutch mariners Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire in 1616. Ahe was later visited by the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842.

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and List of explorers, explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 ...

called the atoll "Peacock Island" after one of the ships of the expedition. This atoll has sometimes suffered damage caused by

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

s. In the late 1970s, sailor Bernard Moitessier lived on Ahe for two years.

Demographics

Population of Ahe:

Administration

Ahe Atoll belongs to the commune of Manihi, which consists of the atolls of Manihi and Ahe.Tahiti Tourisme

References

External links

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Shuttle Image ISS008-E-17141 (Astronaut Photography)
* *
TX5EG Amateur Radio DX Expedition to Ahe Atoll
Atolls of the Tuamotus {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub

History

Demographics

Administration

See also

References

External links