The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (, officially ) are a

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 ...

n chain of just under 80

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s and

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 ...

s in the southern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to southeast) over an area roughly the size of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Their combined land area is . This

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

's major islands are

Rangiroa Rangiroa ( Tuamotuan for 'vast sky') or Te Kokōta (Cook Islands Māori Cook Islands Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language that is the official language of the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Māori is closely related to, but distinct from ...

, Anaa,

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 ...

, Hao and Makemo. The Tuamotus have approximately 16,000 inhabitants. The islands were initially settled by

Polynesians Polynesians are an ethnolinguistic group comprising closely related ethnic groups native to Polynesia, which encompasses the islands within the Polynesian Triangle in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sout ...

, and modern Tuamotuans have inherited from them a shared

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and the Tuamotuan language. The Tuamotus are a French overseas collectivity.

History

The early history of the Tuamotu islands is generally unknown. Archaeological findings suggest that the western Tuamotus were settled from the

Society Islands The Society Islands ( , officially ; ) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Mo'orea, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country ...

as early as 900 CE or as late as 1200 CE. DNA evidence suggests that they were settled about 1110 CE. On the islands of

, Manihi and Mataiva, there are flat ceremonial platforms (called ''

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

'') made of coral blocks, although their exact age is unknown. The first known European encounter with the Tuamotus was with the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan, during his circumglobal voyage in 1521. His encounter was followed by visits from several other Europeans, including: * Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in 1606; * Dutch mariners Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire in 1616; * Jacob Roggeveen (who also first sighted

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

) in 1722; * John Byron in 1765; * Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1768; *

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 ...

during his first voyage in 1769; * Spanish navigator Domingo de Bonechea in 1774 and * Russian expedition of Otto von Kotzebue in 1815. None of these visits were of political consequence, as the islands were within the sphere of influence of the Pōmare Dynasty 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 ...

. The first Christian missionaries arrived in the islands at the beginning of the 19th century. By the late 19th century, traders had begun offering

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

s from the islands for sale in Europe, and they became coveted possessions there. France forced the abdication of King Pōmare V of Tahiti and claimed the islands, but did not formally annex them.

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

and Fanny Stevenson travelled among the Tuamotus (then called the Paumotus) on the yacht ''Casco'' in 1888; an account of their journey was published as ''In the South Seas''.

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

wrote a story, "

The Seed of McCoy ''South Sea Tales'' (1911) is a collection of short stories written by Jack London. Most stories are set in island communities, like those of Hawaii, or are set aboard a ship. List of Stories *The House of Mapuhi *The Whale Tooth *Mauki *"Ya ...

", based on an incident in 1900 in which a burning ship, the ''Pyrenees'', had been safely beached on

Mangareva Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent p ...

. In the story, London has the ship sail past Mangareva and all through the Tuamotus before beaching on

. The Tuamotus made headlines around the world in 1947, when the Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl, sailing from South America with a crew of five others, reached Raroia on his raft '' Kon-Tiki''. The islands were in the news again somewhat later, when France conducted

nuclear weapons testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...

on the atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa.

Administrative divisions

is a semi-autonomous island group designated as an overseas country of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The Tuamotus combine with 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 ...

to form the '' Îles Tuamotu-Gambier'' which is one of the five administrative divisions of French Polynesia. The Tuamotus are grouped into sixteen communes: Anaa; Arutua;

; Fangatau; Hao; Hikueru; Makemo; Manihi; Napuka; Nukutavake; Puka Puka;

; Reao; Takaroa; Tatakoto; and Tureia.

Electoral divisions

The communes on Tuamotu are part of two different electoral districts (''circonscriptions électorales'') represented in the Assembly of French Polynesia. The electoral district called ''Îles Gambier et Tuamotu Est'' comprises the commune of Gambier and eleven communes in eastern Tuamotu: Anaa, Fangatau, Hao, Hikueru, Makemo, Napuka, Nukutavake, Pukapuka, Reao, Tatakoto, and Tureia. The other five communes in western Tuamotu – Arutua, Fakarava, Manihi, Rangiroa, and Takaroa – form the electoral district called ''Îles Tuamotu Ouest''.

Geography

Despite the vast spread of the archipelago, it covers a total land area of only about . The climate is a warm tropical one, without sharply distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is a relatively continuous . Water sources such as lakes or rivers are absent, leaving catchments of rain as the only source of fresh water. The annual average rainfall is . Although average rainfall is lowest in September and November, it does not vary markedly throughout the year. The archipelago is geologically highly stable, because it was created by the action of the Easter fracture zone, which is only weakly active. There have been no volcanic eruptions during recorded history.

Flora and fauna

The sparse soil of the coral islands does not support diverse vegetation. The

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

palm, which is the basis of

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 ...

production, is of special economic importance. On a few of the islands,

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

is also cultivated. Agriculture is generally otherwise limited to simple subsistence. Fruit and vegetable staples include yams,

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...

, and a wide range of tropical fruit.

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

leaves are traditionally woven together to make mats, hats, and roof

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...

es. However, many of the roofs nowadays are made of corrugated sheet-metal. There are also mangrove forests in sheltered areas, though its less common around coral atolls. The species-rich reefs are home to a diverse range of underwater fauna. The surface creatures are primarily

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, and

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s. The Tuamotus have 86 species of birds, ten of which are

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 ...

, including the Tuamotu kingfisher, the Tuamotu reed warbler, and the Tuamotu sandpiper. Thirteen species are globally threatened, and one has gone extinct.

Geology

All of the islands of the Tuamotus are coral "low islands": essentially high sand bars built upon coral

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s. Makatea, southwest of the Palliser Islands, is one of three great

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

rocks in the

. (The others are Banaba in

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

, and the island nation of

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

.) Although the

are geographically part of the Tuamotus because they lie at the southeastern extreme of the

, they are geologically and culturally distinct. The ring-shaped atoll Taiaro, which lies in the northwestern portion of the archipelago, is a rare example of a coral reef that has a fully enclosed lagoon. Taiaro has been officially designated a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

biosphere reserve since 1977.

Island groups

The Tuamotu archipelago consists of eight groups of small islands and atolls: * Disappointment Islands ** Napuka ** Puka-Puka ** Tepoto (North) ( Tepoto Nord) * Duke of Gloucester Islands ** Anuanuraro ** Anuanurunga ** Hereheretue ** Nukutepipi * Far East Tuamotu Group ** Akiaki ** Fakahina ** Fangatau ** Fangataufa ** Moruroa ** Nukutavake ** Pinaki ** Pukarua ** Reao ** Tatakoto ** Tematangi ** Tureia ** Vahitahi ** Vairaatea ** Vanavana * Hao Group ** Ahunui ** Amanu ** Hao ** Manuhangi ** Nengonengo ** Paraoa ** Rekareka ( Tehuata) ** Tauere * Hikueru Group ** Hikueru ** Marokau ** Ravahere ** Reitoru ** Tekokota * King George Islands **

Ahe Ahe, Ahemaru or Omaru, is a coral atoll in the northern Tuamotus, Tuamotu Archipelago, 14 km to the west of Manihi, in French Polynesia. Its ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon. It has a land area of approxi ...

** Manihi ** Takaroa ** Takapoto ** Tikei *

Palliser Islands The Palliser Islands or Pallisers are a subgroup of the Tuamotus, Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located in the very northwest of the main group of atolls. Atolls The group includes: *Apataki *Arutua *Fakarava *Kaukura *Mataiva *Rang ...

** Arutua ** Apataki **

** Kaukura ** Makatea ** Mataiva ** Niau **

** Toau **

Tikehau Tikehau (meaning ''Peaceful Landing'' in TuamotuanOfficial Tikehau Tourism Site< ...

* Raeffsky Islands ** Anaa ** Aratika ** Faaite ** Haraiki ** Hiti ** Katiu ** Kauehi ** Makemo ** Marutea Nord ** Motutunga ** Nihiru ** Raraka ** Raroia ** Taenga ** Tahanea ** Taiaro ** Takume ** Tepoto (South) ( Tepoto Sud) ** Tuanake Related island groups include: * The Gambier Group: Akamaru; Angakauitai; Aukena; Kamaka; Kouaku; Makapu; Makaroa;

; Manui;

Mekiro Mekiro is an island of the Gambier Islands of 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 ...

; Papuri; Puaumu; Taravai; Tokorua; and Totengengie. * The Outer Gambier Group: Marutea Sud; Maria Est; Morane; and Temoe. * The Acteon Group: Matureivavao; Tenararo; Tenarunga; and Vahanga.

Demographics

A little more than fifty atolls are permanently populated; the rest are occupied only sporadically, during the copra harvesting season or as a base for fishing expeditions. The population has grown in the last years due to the fishing boom in the northern part and the extraction of pearls, especially black pearls, in the west and in the center. In any case, most of the inhabitants practice subsistence agriculture. In the 2007 census, there were 15,510 inhabitants in the Tuamotu Islands, a population density of 18 inhabitants/km². The population was 14,876 in 2002 and 8,100 in 1983. In 2002, 769 inhabitants lived within 400 km of the islands of Moruroa and Fangataufa (former nuclear test base). Rangiroa Church

Languages

The official language of the archipelago is French. However, the Tuamotu language, Pa'umotu, is recognized as a regional language of the French Republic. In the Gambier Islands, Mangarevan is spoken, while in Puka Puka a Marquesan dialect is used.

Religion

The majority of the population is Christian, including members of the Catholic Church and various Protestant groups. The Catholic Church administers 42 churches on the islands under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Papeete. In 1833, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

divided the Pacific into two

apostolic vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

s: Western Oceania fell to the Marists and Eastern Oceania-which included the Tuamots, Hawaii, Tahiti, the Marquesas and the Cook Islands-was the responsibility of the Picpus missionaries. In 1834, the French Fathers Honoré Laval and François d'Assise Caret arrived in Mangareva. First with the acquiescence and then with the active support of the island chiefs, the Picpusians embarked on an extensive development program for the Gambier Islands. This included the introduction of cotton cultivation, pearl and mother-of-pearl fishing, and the establishment of plantations and orchards. As they were very successful, their missionary activities gradually spread to the other islands of the Tuamotu archipelago. With the missionary work, news of the islands' wealth in pearls also reached Europe, making them a coveted destination for European traders and adventurers.

Economy

The islands' economy is predominantly based on

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...

. The most important sources of additional income are the cultivation of black pearls and the preparation of

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

-related income remains meager, especially compared to the income generated by tourism in the neighboring

. Modest tourism infrastructure is found on the atolls of

and Manihi, which offer recreational

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

and snorkeling destinations. The inhabitants of Tuamotu produce 75% of the copra of French Polynesia. It is a subsidized family activity and the only resource of the atolls farthest from the center and east. Fishing is a major activity in the atolls closest to Tahiti (Rangiroa, Arutua, Apataki), which supply the central market of Papeete.