Tenarunga or Tenania, previously Narunga and formerly Minto Island, is a low, wooded

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 ...

in the

Acteon Group The Acteon Group (Groupe Actéon) is a rather isolated and uninhabited subgroup in the far southeast of the Tuamotu atoll group in French Polynesia. It is located about east-southeast of Tahiti at latitude: 21° 17' 60 S, longitude: 136° 29' ...

in the southeastern part of the

Tuamotu Islands 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 ...

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 administratively a part 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 alo ...

. The atoll has a population of between 10 and 50 people.

Geography

Tenarunga is located northwest of

Matureivavao Matureivavao, or Maturei-vavao is an uninhabited atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. It is the largest atoll within the Acteon Group, and like others in this group, is administratively part of the commune ...

, west of

Vahanga Vahanga is a small uninhabited atoll part of the Acteon Group in the Tuamotu Islands, Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia and belongs to the municipality of the Gambier Islands. Geography Vahanga is located 9 km west of Tenarunga and 13 ...

and southeast 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 ...

. It has a land area of and a total area (lagoon inclusive) of . There are some buildings and a dock located on the north-east side of the island, indicating former and/or seasonal habitation. The atoll's lagoon is not accessible from the sea.

History

The first recorded sighting of this atoll was made during the Spanish expedition of the Portuguese navigator

Pedro Fernández de Quirós Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meani ...

on 5 February 1606 under the name ''Las Cuatro Coronadas'' (the "four crowned" (by coconut palms)); however, these observations were not fully documented. As such, the first unambiguous approach to the island was made on 14 March 1828 by the collector

Hugh Cuming Hugh Cuming (14 February 1791 – 10 August 1865) was an English collector who was interested in natural history, particularly in conchology and botany. He has been described as the "Prince of Collectors". Born in England, he spent a number of ...

in his ship ''The Discoverer'', captained by Samuel Grimwood. The next visit was in 1833 by the navigator

Thomas Ebrill Thomas Ebrill (also spelt Abrill) was a British merchant, who from 1826 to 1842 worked with the ships the ''Minerva'', ''Star'' and ''Amphitrite'' in the Pacific Ocean and is known for his discovery of the Acteon group. Life Ebrill's early life ...

on his merchant's vessel ''Amphitrite'' and again in 1837 by Lord Edward Russell, commander of the H.M.S Actaeon, the name given to the group.

Flora and fauna

The island is home to many rare species including the

Tuamotu sandpiper The Tuamotu sandpiper (''Prosobonia parvirostris'') is an endangered member of the large wader family Scolopacidae, that is endemic to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus ''Aechmorhynchus''. A na ...

. In 2015 a conservation campaign resulted in the eradication of rats from the island.

References

*''Sailing Directions, Pub 126, "Pacific Islands" NIMA 2002''; page-12

External links

Atoll list (in French)Google MapsIsland Conservation: Acteon and Gambier Archipelagos Restoration Project
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub Atolls of the Tuamotus Islands of the Gambier Islands Uninhabited islands of French Polynesia Island restoration

Geography

History

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links