Fangataufa

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Fangataufa
NASA image of Fangataufa
NASA image by Fangataufa
Waters Pacific Ocean
archipelago Tuamotu Archipelago
Geographical location 22 ° 15 ′  S , 138 ° 45 ′  W Coordinates: 22 ° 15 ′  S , 138 ° 45 ′  W
Fangataufa (French Polynesia)
Fangataufa
Number of islands -
Main island Fangataufa
Land area 5 km²
Lagoon area 45 km²
Residents uninhabited (2002)
Location of Fangataufa (4)
Location of Fangataufa (4)
Template: Infobox Atoll / Maintenance / HoeheFehlt

Fangataufa (also Fangatau or Ahunui , old name: Cockburn Island ) is a small, uninhabited atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago with a land area of ​​5 km². The extension is about 5 by 8 km and covers a total area of ​​around 45 km². The average depth of the lagoon is 40–42 m.

Fangataufa is located in the south-eastern part of the archipelago, about 45 km south of Mururoa . It belongs to French Polynesia and is administratively assigned to the municipality of Tureia .

history

In February 1826, the then uninhabited atoll was discovered by Frederick William Beechey .

Originally, Fangataufa was a closed ring. In the mid-1960s, the French armed forces blew up a 400 m wide passage in the northern part of the ring to create an entrance for their ships, the Passe Balisée.

Nuclear weapons tests

Since 1966, the atoll has been used 13 times by France as a test site for the Force de frappe for nuclear weapons , the first five in the air near the atoll, since 1975 underground, mostly at a depth of 500 to 700 m. Dates included:

  • July 19, 1966, air detonation, 60 kt (kilotons)
  • September 24, 1966, air detonation, <200 kt
  • August 24, 1968, air detonation, 2,600 kt ( hydrogen bomb ). The operation was codenamed Canopus (name of the second brightest star in the night sky).
  • May 30, 1970, air detonation, <1,000 kt
  • August 2, 1970, air detonation, <1,000 kt
  • November 30, 1988, underground, 100 kt
  • June 10, 1989, underground, 70 kt
  • November 27, 1989, underground, 90 kt
  • June 26, 1990, underground, 100 kt
  • November 14, 1990, underground, 120 kt
  • May 29, 1991, underground, 130 kt
  • October 2, 1995, underground
  • January 27, 1996, underground

The International Atomic Energy Agency has now classified the radioactivity hazard on Fangataufa as harmless.

See also

literature

  • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): Radiological Situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa: Summary Report (Radiological Assessment Reports Series) , 1999, ISBN 92-0-101298-5 .

Web links

Commons : Fangataufa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b List of nuclear tests on nuclear weapons AZ
  2. ↑ oceandots.com - Fangataufa ( Memento from December 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Fangataufa - France's secret test zone ( Memento of May 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (Greenpeace)
  4. ^ IAEA: The Situation at Mururoa And Fangataufa Atolls