Tahanea
Tahanea | ||
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NASA image of Tahanea | ||
Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
archipelago | Tuamotu Archipelago | |
Geographical location | 16 ° 52 ′ S , 144 ° 46 ′ W | |
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Number of islands | - | |
Main island | Otao | |
Land area | 7.7 km² | |
Lagoon area | 523 km² | |
Residents | uninhabited |
Tahanea is a large uninhabited atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia . The nearest atoll, Faaite, is 12 km east. Tahanea reaches an extent of 48 km in length with a maximum width of 15.2 km. The atoll is surrounded by reefs that are slightly wider in the south than those in the north, near the atoll. There are three easily navigable passages to the lagoon, which are called Motupuapua , Teavatapua and Otao .
Tahanea belongs administratively to the Anaa municipality .
history
The island was discovered by Domingo de Boenechea in 1774 . He named the atoll San Julián
It was also approached by the Baltic German navigator Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen in 1820 as part of a research trip. He named the atoll Chichagov .
Today it is only the inhabitants of the neighboring islands who sometimes visit the atoll to make copra .
The South Sea Sandpiper (Prosobonia cancellata) is native to the island .
Web links
- Image and short description (Engl.) ( Memento of 23 December 2010 at the Internet Archive )
- List of Spanish Seafarers
- Description of the sand runner
- Short travel report