Niau is a small

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 ...

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 ...

, in the commune of

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 ro ...

(

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 ...

). This atoll has a broad

fringing reef A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reef. It is distinguished from the other main types, barrier reefs and atolls, in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone (lagoon) or none at all. If a fringing reef grows direc ...

, a diameter of 8 km and an area of 53 km². Niau's lagoon is

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

y, hypersaline and entirely enclosed. The narrow strip of land surrounding 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'') an ...

is covered by

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

. The enclosed lagoon area is 33 km², making the land size at 20 km². The lagoon has an unusual green color. The only human settlement on Niau is Tupana, population 226 ().

History

The first recorded European to visit Niau was a Russian

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen Faddey Faddeyevich Bellingshausen or Fabian Gottlieb Benjamin von Bellingshausen ( – ) was a Russian cartographer, explorer, and naval officer of Baltic German descent, who attained the rank of admiral. He participated in the first Russi ...

in 1820 on ships the ''

Vostok Vostok () refers to east in Russian but may also refer to: Spaceflight * Vostok programme, Soviet human spaceflight project * Vostok (spacecraft), a type of spacecraft built by the Soviet Union * Vostok (rocket family), family of rockets derived ...

'' and '' Mirni''. He named this island Greig Island after Aleksey Greig.

Administration

Niau is administratively part of the commune of

, which consists of the island Fakarava, as well as the atolls of Aratika, Kauehi, Niau, Raraka, Taiaro and Toau.

Ecology

Niau is one of the few locations where the original Tuamotu tropical moist forests ecosystem (known locally as ''feo'') has been preserved. This mixed broadleaf forest ecosystem has disappeared on almost all other atolls. The

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

has been preserved in the central parts of the island. It contains several

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

species of plants and animals. The small

Niau kingfisher The Niau kingfisher (''Todiramphus gertrudae'') is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is endemic to the island of Niau in French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, plantations and rural gardens ...

''Todiramphus gertrudae'' lives now exclusively in the island of Niau. This critically endangered bird disappeared from 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 alo ...

long ago.

Niau airport

Niau Airport is at the northern tip of the atoll .

References

*
Pictures

External links

Atolls of the Tuamotus {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub