Morane
is an uninhabited small isolated
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 ...
of the
Tuamotu Archipelago
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 ...
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 153 km southwest of
Maria Est, its closest neighbour. Morane Atoll is the southernmost atoll of the Tuamotus proper. It measures 5.8 km in length, 3.5 km in width and has a land area of 2.85 km
2. The
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' ...
has an area of 11 km
2 and has no passes.
The islands on its reef are covered with
screw pine
''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common n ...
(''Pandanus'') and
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or ...
trees.
History
The first recorded westerner to sight Morane Atoll was Captain Samuel Grimwood of the Discoverer, owned by the naturalist Hugh Cuming, on 15 January 1828. Its original name was Grimwood's Island. Cited as such in the "Pacific Island Names" atlas published by Bishop Museum Press, Hawaii, in 1986.
Administration
Administratively Morane Atoll belongs to the commune of the
Gambier Islands
The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera al ...
.
Ecology
By 2003, Morane Atoll holds one of the largest extant populations (approx. 50 individuals) of the
critically endangered Polynesian ground-dove
The Polynesian ground dove (''Pampusana erythroptera'') or ''Tutururu'' is a critically endangered species of bird in the family Columbidae. Originally endemic to the Society Islands and Tuamotus in French Polynesia, it has now been extirpated ...
. It also has one of the highest concentrations of the
Tuamotu sandpiper (''Prosobonia cancellata''), with approximately 150 to 200 individuals of the species.
See also
*
Desert island
A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereo ...
*
List of islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water
A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another plane ...
References
External links
Atoll list (in French)OceandotsTuamotuichthys bispinosus, a new fish species from Morane Atoll
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub
Atolls of the Tuamotus
Islands of the Gambier Islands
Uninhabited islands of French Polynesia