Motutunga Atoll
is an uninhabited
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 ...
of the
Tuamotu Archipelago
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 ...
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 ...
. It is located 17 km to the east of
Tahanea Atoll.
Motutunga Atoll is roughly triangular in shape. It measures 15 km in length with a maximum width of 14 km. The reef surrounding the atoll is continuous, leaving no channels deep enough for ships to reach the lagoon. Motutunga's lagoon has a surface of 126 km
2.
History
Motutunga Atoll was first sighted by
James Cook
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
on 13 August 1773 who named it ''Adventure'', after the name of his own ship.
Spanish navigator
Domingo de Boenechea sighted the atoll, which he called San Blas, on 9 November 1774 from ship ''Aguila.''
[Sharp, Andrew, ''The discovery of the Pacific Islands'', Oxford 1960 p.125]
Administration
Motutunga belongs to the
commune of
Anaa that also includes the associated commune of
Faaite with the atoll of Faaite and the uninhabited atolls of
Tahanea and Motutunga.
See also
*
Desert island
An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...
*
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 is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refer ...
References
External links
*
Spanish voyages
Atolls of the Tuamotus
Uninhabited islands of French Polynesia
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