The Two Groups Islands ( ) is a minor subgroup of the

Tuamotus 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 formed by the atolls of Marokau to the north (populated by 100 people) and the uninhabited Ravahere to the south. The two atolls are separated by a wide

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

History

These two neighboring

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 were discovered by

Louis Antoine de Bougainville Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (; 12 November 1729 – 31 August 1811) was a French military officer and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he served in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. B ...

in 1768. It was

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 ...

, however, who named them "Two Groups" the following year. He described Marokau and Revahere as a "chain of islands linked by reefs".

Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu Charles Pierre Claret, comte de Fleurieu ( ; ) (2 July 1738 – 18 August 1810) was a French Navy officer, explorer, hydrographer and politician. He served as Minister of the Navy under Louis XVI, and was a member of the Institut de France. H ...

et al. ''Discoveries of the French in 1768 and 1769, to the south-east of New Guinea'', J. Stockdale, 1791

Administration

Administratively the Two Groups Islands belong form the territory of the associated commune of Marokau, itself part of the commune of Hikueru, which consists of the two atolls of the Two Groups Islands ( Marokau and Ravahere) and the three atolls of the associated commune of Hikueru (

Hikueru Hikueru, Tiveru, or Te Kārena, is one of the Central Tuamotu atolls. The closest land to Hikueru is Tekokota Atoll, located 22 km to the north. Hikueru Atoll's shape is roughly oval and it is 15 km in length and 9.5 km in width. ...

, Reitoru and Tekokota).

References

Atolls of the Tuamotus Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub