Raroia, or Raro-nuku, is an

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 Tuamotus chain 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 ...

, located 740 km northeast of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

and 6 km southwest of Takume. Administratively it is a part of the commune of Makemo. The oval-shaped atoll measures 43 km by 14 km and has a land area of 41 km². A navigable waterway leads to the central

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 ...

, which has an area of 359 km². The population as of the 2022 census was 253. The town of Garumaoa is the main settlement. Raroians live principally on

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

cultivation, and pearl farming.

History

Raroia and Takume were called Napaite, "the Twins" (-''ite'', two), by the ancient Paumotu people. The first recorded Europeans to reach Raroia were those of the Spanish expedition led by the Portuguese explorer

Pedro Fernandes de Queirós Pedro Fernandes de Queirós () (1563–1614) was a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. He is best known for leading several Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 1595–1596 voyage of Álvaro de Mendaña y ...

on 14 February 1606. The island was charted as ''La Fugitiva'' (the fugitive in Spanish). It was later sighted again in 1820 by

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 ...

, who named it ''Barclay de Tolly'' after the Russian field marshal

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (baptised – ) was a Russian field marshal who figured prominently in the Napoleonic Wars. Barclay was born into a Baltic German family from Livland. His father was the first of his family to be accep ...

In 1947,

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

's '' Kon-Tiki'' raft arrived in Raroia after its 101-day journey from South America. Later, one of the crew members, Bengt Danielsson, lived there and studied the economy and the society. He wrote some books about Raroia, notably his thesis ''Work and Life on Raroia'' (Uppsala, 1955). In his 1952 book ''Raroia: Happy Island of the South Seas'', he observes, "The Raroian peace stems from the fact that the people have no material anxieties and no other object in life than just to live" (Danielsson, 294). In April 2006 Raroia Airport began serving the air transportation needs of the atoll, with irregular visits by Air Tahiti flights.Official site
- photos of the airport

Administration

Administratively Raroia is a part of the commune of Makemo. The commune of Makemo consists of the atolls of Makemo, Haraiki, Marutea Nord, Katiu, Tuanake, Hiti, Tepoto Sud, Raroia, Takume, Taenga and Nihiru.

People

The languages spoken on Raroia are Pa'umotu and French. Pa'umotu is the local language, and French is taught in the elementary school in the island's village of Garumaoa. To attend secondary school the children go to the larger island Makemo. To attend university they can go to

, 748 km away. The Raroians are, like most Polynesians, known for their hospitality, and although there are no available accommodations to rent on the island, locals will often share their lodgings with travelers. The Raroian diet consists mainly of local seafood, imported bread, rice and canned goods. The island's main industries are pearl farming and

cultivation.

References

''Parts of this article are based upon a translation of the equivalent article in the

Spanish Wikipedia The Spanish Wikipedia () is the Spanish-language edition of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia. It has articles. Started in May 2001, it reached 100,000 articles on 8 March 2006, and 1,000,000 articles on 16 May 2013. It is the -largest Wikip ...

.''

External links

Atoll list (in French)

Official site
- bi-lingual portal
Official site
- details about demographics, history, and economics

Atolls of the Tuamotus {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub