Pinaki (also referred to as Te Kiekie or Artomix) is a small atoll of the
Tuamotu
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 ...
group 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 ...
. Geographically Pinaki Atoll is part of the East-central subgroup of the Tuamotus, which includes
Ahunui,
Amanu,
Fangatau,
Hao and
Nukutavake.
Geography
The island on its reef forms a broken ring almost enclosing a lagoon which has a shallow tidal spillway facing west. Pinaki lies 14 km southeast of
Nukutavake, which is the closest land.
Vairaatea Atoll lies 51 km to the west of Pinaki. Pinaki Atoll measures 3 km in length and its width is less than 2 km. It has a land area of 1.3 km
2 and a lagoon area of 0.7 km
2. Pinaki is uninhabited, but it is visited on occasions by villagers from neighboring Nukutavake.
History
The Englishman
Samuel Wallis
Post-captain, Captain Samuel Wallis (23 April 1728 – 21 January 1795) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who made the first recorded visit by a European navigator to Tahiti.
Biography
Wallis was born at Fenteroon Farm, near Camelfo ...
was the first recorded European to visit Pinaki Atoll on June 6, 1767, while searching for the "
Southern Continent".
Wallis named the atoll "Whitsunday".
Frederick Beechey found Pinaki uninhabited in 1826, but he observed that there were huts on the island as well as small reservoirs for the collection and preservation of fresh water cut in the coral rock.
Administration
Pinaki belongs to the
commune of Nukutavake, which includes three other atolls apart from Pinaki,
Vahitahi,
Vairaatea and uninhabited
Akiaki.
References
External links
Pictures and mapAtoll names
Atolls of the Tuamotus
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