Maria Atoll is a small atoll of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

. It is located in the far southeast of the archipelago, about 72 km southwest from Marutea Sud

Marutea Sud

Marutea Atoll , also known as Marutea-i-runga, and Nuku-nui, is an atoll of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located in the far southeast of the archipelago, about 72 km northeast from Maria Atoll....

. Maria's closest neighbour is the small atoll of Matureivavao

Matureivavao

Matureivavao, or Mature-vavao is an atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. It is the largest atoll within the Acteon Group....

 of the Acteon Group

Acteon Group

The Acteon Group is a subgroup of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located about 1,400 km south-southeast of Tahiti and southeast of the main Tuamotu atoll cluster and is rather isolated...

, 56 km to the northwest.

Maria Atoll is oval in shape and bound by a continuous reef. It is 7 km long and has a maximum width of 4 km. Its islands are low and flat and the lagoon is hypersaline

Hypersaline lake

A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride or other mineral salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water . Specific microbial and crustacean species thrive in these high salinity environments that are otherwise...

.

This atoll is mostly called "Maria Est" in order to avoid confusion with the another small atoll called Maria

Îles Maria

Îles Maria or simply Maria, also known as Hull Island, is a small coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Its original name is Nororotu. The nearest land is Rimatara situated 205 km to the ESE....

 (Nororotu) in the Tubuai (Austral Islands)

Tubuai (Austral Islands)

Tubuai is the name of a group of islands and also the name of its main island, being part of the Austral Islands, French Polynesia, in the Pacific Ocean. Tubuai, the main island of the Tubuai Island group, is located at . It is south of Tahiti...

 division of French Polynesia.

History

The first recorded European who arrived to Maria Est was Jacques-Antoine Moerenhout in 1829. In some maps Maria Atoll appeared as "Moerenhout Island".

External links

• Atoll list (in French)