Rangiroa
Encyclopedia
Rangiroa or Te Kokōta (Hyades
in Māori
), is the largest atoll
in the Tuamotus
, and one of the largest in the world (although it is smaller than Kwajalein
in the Marshall Islands
and Huvadhu in the Maldives
). It is part of the Palliser
group. The nearest atoll is Tikehau
, located only 12 km to the West. It is about 355 km Northeast of Tahiti
.
The chief town is Avatoru
, located in the northwestern part of the atoll.
s, islets and sandbars comprising a total land area of about 170 km². There are approximately one hundred narrow passages (passes
), called r'oa, in the fringing reef
. The atoll has a flattened elliptic shape, with 80 km in length and a width ranging from 5 to 32 km wide. The width of land reaches 300 to 500 meters wide and its circumference
totals up to 200 km. The lagoon
has a maximum depth of 35 m and its surface is 1446 km².All figures approximative It is so large that it has its own horizon. On account of its shallow depth, the currents that come in and out through the passes and with the winds can sometimes create interior storms.
Only two islands, located on the northern end of the atoll, are permanently inhabited. As of 2007, the total population on the atoll of Rangiroa was 2,473 inhabitants. The main villages are Avatoru
(pop. 817), Tiputa
(pop. 971), Ohutu (pop. 546), Taeo'o, Fenuaroa, Otepipi and Tevaro. Both Avatoru and Tiputa were built on neighboring islands, 12.5 and 4 km in length respectively. They are separated by the major Tiputa Pass
. The other major pass of the atoll is Avatoru Pass
, immediately to the West of the island of Avatoru.
Rangiroa is a major underwater diving
destination because of its lagoon's clear blue water and exceptionally diverse marine fauna
. The most popular diving sites are the Blue Lagoon, Avatoru pass, Tiputa pass and Les Sables Roses ("The Pink Sands").
and Willem Schouten
during their 1615-1616 Pacific journey. They called this atoll "Vlieghen Island". Rangiroa appears in some maps as "Nairsa" or as "Dean’s island". John Byron
passing the atoll during his circumnavigation in 1765 named it for the "Prince of Wales". This atoll was visited by the Charles Wilkes
expedition on 7 September 1839.
During the 1950s, the economy of Rangiroa was driven by fishing and the production of copra
. The inauguration of the Rangiroa Airport
in 1965 allowed rapid development of the tourism industry as underwater diving facilities and hotels were built.
, which consists of two other atolls (Tikehau
and Mataiva
) and a separate non-atoll island (Makatea
).
shell, Pinctada margaritifera) are abundant in the atolls of French Polynesia. These pearls, which have a wide range of natural colors, from white to dark and all kind of grey, are the only cultured pearls in the world with so many different natural colors as the famous green rose peacock.
The technique to produce marine cultured pearls was developed in Japan and, except some minor details, is similar in French Polynesia. A mother of pearl bead is inserted in the animal together with a piece of tissue (mantle) taken from another pearl oyster. The piece of tissue, as a graft tissue, will develop quickly and will form a skin around the bead and then will deposit mother of pearl on the surface of the bead. Bead rejection is important and concern about 30% of the seeded shells, mainly because the graft tissue is not enough close to the bead. Even with perfectly round beads, only 20% of the pearls will be perfectly round at the harvest, about 2 years after the seeding.
Pearl farming is done in more than 30 atolls of French Polynesia and is the main activity for numerous families in the Tuamotu archipelago
. In Rangiroa, a few farms exploited about 1000 acres (4 km²) of water surface in the lagoon loan by the Tahitian government. The biggest farm, Gauguin's Pearl employed more than 50 local workers, with a strong impact on the economy of this 2000 inhabitants atoll.
A school dedicated to the pearl farming techniques and a research center on pearl oysters are also implanted on the atoll of Rangiroa, which make it a kind of pearl center for this industry.
The creation of this vineyard came after much prior analysis, to find the best site capable of hosting the vines. The first vines were imported in 1992 and underwent tests for acclimatization and selection in the main islands of Polynesia, with the uncertainty of their adaptation to climate. Thirty varieties were imported from various parts of Europe. The vineyard is Domaine Dominique Auroy
The tests took place in:
The atoll of Rangiroa was selected for the following reasons: absence of grapevine pest such as defoliating insects (e.g. Grape Phylloxera
) and its proximity to Tahiti. The varietal
s grown on the atoll include Carignan, Italia and Black Muscat
.
However, other fruit is very scarce on the island and the inhabitants appreciate when cruise ship visitors bring them fruit.
due to excessive pumping, leading to saltwater intrusion
. Some are also polluted because of the landfill.
Rangiroa offers some of the best dives in the world in and around the Tiputa Pass
, which lies at one end of the one main road and runs 3.5 km to the Avatoru Pass.
Sedentary common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) regularly play group in the Pass. They can be viewed from the mainland but it is also one of the few places where they can be approached in scuba diving.
Because of its large size and the existence of only two passes, each high tide creates a strong incoming current while each low tide creates a strong outgoing current in those two passes.
When the current is flowing inward through Tiputa Pass, about 200 shark specimens gather at the entrance to the Tiputa Pass, at fifty meters deep. Led by the strong current, sharks can remain motionless and allow divers to observe them without any difficulty. Large manta rays, green sea turtle
s, and humphead wrasse
s can also be seen. Occasionally, tiger shark
s and hammerhead shark
s can also be spotted. In January, large number of stingrays gather in the Tiputa Pass, as well as hammerhead sharks that feed on them.
A notable site in the atoll is the famous Blue Lagoon, which is a smaller lagoon formed on the southwestern edge of Rangiroa. Its shallow waters accentuate the bright blue color of the water. The Pink Sands are sandbars surrounded by numerous ro'a are located on the southeastern portion of Rangiroa.
, located on the Avatoru Island, with flights to Tahiti and other atolls of the French Polynesia. There is also a small road circling the island of Avatoru. It is made of tarmac
and coral chips.
Hyades (star cluster)
The Hyades is the nearest open cluster to the Solar System and one of the best-studied of all star clusters. The Hipparcos satellite, the Hubble Space Telescope, and infrared color-magnitude diagram fitting have been used to establish a distance to the cluster's center of ~153 ly...
in Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
), is the largest atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
in the Tuamotus
Tuamotus
The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago are a chain of islands and atolls in French Polynesia. They form the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe...
, and one of the largest in the world (although it is smaller than Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
in the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
and Huvadhu in the Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
). It is part of the Palliser
Palliser Islands
The Palliser Islands or Pallisers are a subgroup of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located in the northwest of the main group of atolls.-Atolls:The group includes:*Apataki*Arutua*Fakarava*Kaukura*Mataiva*Rangiroa*Makatea...
group. The nearest atoll is Tikehau
Tikehau
-External links:* * * * * * * * * * *...
, located only 12 km to the West. It is about 355 km Northeast of Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
.
The chief town is Avatoru
Avatoru
Avatoru is the chief town of Rangiroa, a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago.It is located in the northwestern part of the atoll, and is home to the atoll's administration buildings, its post office and several churches. Rangiroa Airport is located 5.5 km Southeast of Avatoru. The atoll's...
, located in the northwestern part of the atoll.
Geography
The atoll consists of about 415 motuMotu
Motu may refer to:*Motu language, a language of Papua New Guinea*Motu proprio, a type of Papal document*MOTU, also known as "Mark of the Unicorn", a maker of professional audio hardware and software...
s, islets and sandbars comprising a total land area of about 170 km². There are approximately one hundred narrow passages (passes
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
), called r'oa, in the fringing reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
. The atoll has a flattened elliptic shape, with 80 km in length and a width ranging from 5 to 32 km wide. The width of land reaches 300 to 500 meters wide and its circumference
Circumference
The circumference is the distance around a closed curve. Circumference is a special perimeter.-Circumference of a circle:The circumference of a circle is the length around it....
totals up to 200 km. The lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
has a maximum depth of 35 m and its surface is 1446 km².All figures approximative It is so large that it has its own horizon. On account of its shallow depth, the currents that come in and out through the passes and with the winds can sometimes create interior storms.
Only two islands, located on the northern end of the atoll, are permanently inhabited. As of 2007, the total population on the atoll of Rangiroa was 2,473 inhabitants. The main villages are Avatoru
Avatoru
Avatoru is the chief town of Rangiroa, a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago.It is located in the northwestern part of the atoll, and is home to the atoll's administration buildings, its post office and several churches. Rangiroa Airport is located 5.5 km Southeast of Avatoru. The atoll's...
(pop. 817), Tiputa
Tiputa
Tiputa is a village on the French Polynesian atoll of Rangiroa, in the Tuamotu archipelago.It is located on the Northern edge of the atoll, approximately 7 km East-southeast of the village of Avatoru. The two villages are separated by the Tiputa Pass, a world-renowned spot for underwater diving...
(pop. 971), Ohutu (pop. 546), Taeo'o, Fenuaroa, Otepipi and Tevaro. Both Avatoru and Tiputa were built on neighboring islands, 12.5 and 4 km in length respectively. They are separated by the major Tiputa Pass
Tiputa Pass
Tiputa Pass is a strait in the northwest portion of Rangiroa lagoon in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia, joining the lagoon to the open ocean. There are only two such passes in Rangiroa, the second one being Avatoru Pass. Tiputa Pass separates the villages of Avatoru and Tiputa.- Scuba...
. The other major pass of the atoll is Avatoru Pass
Avatoru Pass
Avatoru Pass is located on the northwestern portion of the Rangiroa lagoon in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia. It is located immediately to the West of the village of Avatoru. There are only two major passes on Rangiroa, the other being Tiputa Pass. The latter is located approximately...
, immediately to the West of the island of Avatoru.
Rangiroa is a major underwater diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
destination because of its lagoon's clear blue water and exceptionally diverse marine fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
. The most popular diving sites are the Blue Lagoon, Avatoru pass, Tiputa pass and Les Sables Roses ("The Pink Sands").
History
It is believed the first settlers arrived on Rangiroa around the 10th century AD. The first recorded Europeans to arrive to Rangiroa were Dutch explorers Jacob le MaireJacob Le Maire
Jacob Le Maire was a Dutch mariner who circumnavigated the earth in 1615-16. The strait between Tierra del Fuego and Isla de los Estados was named the Le Maire Strait in his honor, though not without controversy...
and Willem Schouten
Willem Schouten
Willem Cornelisz Schouten was a Dutch navigator for the Dutch East India Company. He was the first to sail the Cape Horn route to the Pacific Ocean.- Biography :Willem Cornelisz Schouten was born in c...
during their 1615-1616 Pacific journey. They called this atoll "Vlieghen Island". Rangiroa appears in some maps as "Nairsa" or as "Dean’s island". John Byron
John Byron
Vice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...
passing the atoll during his circumnavigation in 1765 named it for the "Prince of Wales". This atoll was visited by the Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...
expedition on 7 September 1839.
During the 1950s, the economy of Rangiroa was driven by fishing and the production of copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
. The inauguration of the Rangiroa Airport
Rangiroa Airport
Rangiroa Airport is an airport on the island of Rangiroa, French Polynesia . The airport is located on the northwestern edge of the atoll, 5.5 km southeast of Avatoru. The airport was built in 1965. Air Tahiti has regular daily flights connecting Rangiroa to other atolls of the French Polynesia...
in 1965 allowed rapid development of the tourism industry as underwater diving facilities and hotels were built.
Administration
The atoll of Rangiroa is the chef-lieu of the commune of RangiroaRangiroa (commune)
Rangiroa is a commune of French Polynesia in the archipelago of the Tuamotu Islands. The commune includes 4 islands: Rangiroa, Tikehau, Mataiva and Makatea. The chef-lieu is the atoll of Rangiroa and the chief-town is Avatoru.-Commune of Rangiroa:...
, which consists of two other atolls (Tikehau
Tikehau
-External links:* * * * * * * * * * *...
and Mataiva
Mataiva
Mataiva or Tepoetiriura is a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. It is located in the Palliser group, and is the westernmost of the Tuamotus. The nearest atoll, Tikehau, is located 35 km to the east...
) and a separate non-atoll island (Makatea
Makatea
Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus. It is located 79 km southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser group. It is surrounded by spectacular cliffs, rising to a plateau 80 meters above the sea level. This island is...
).
Pearls
The breeding of pearl oysters in the lagoon can produce black pearls. In fact, black pearls (meaning the marine cultured pearls produced from the black lip pearl oysterPearl oyster
Pearl oysters are saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs of the genus Pinctada in the family Pteriidae. They have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl"....
shell, Pinctada margaritifera) are abundant in the atolls of French Polynesia. These pearls, which have a wide range of natural colors, from white to dark and all kind of grey, are the only cultured pearls in the world with so many different natural colors as the famous green rose peacock.
The technique to produce marine cultured pearls was developed in Japan and, except some minor details, is similar in French Polynesia. A mother of pearl bead is inserted in the animal together with a piece of tissue (mantle) taken from another pearl oyster. The piece of tissue, as a graft tissue, will develop quickly and will form a skin around the bead and then will deposit mother of pearl on the surface of the bead. Bead rejection is important and concern about 30% of the seeded shells, mainly because the graft tissue is not enough close to the bead. Even with perfectly round beads, only 20% of the pearls will be perfectly round at the harvest, about 2 years after the seeding.
Pearl farming is done in more than 30 atolls of French Polynesia and is the main activity for numerous families in the Tuamotu archipelago
Tuamotus
The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago are a chain of islands and atolls in French Polynesia. They form the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe...
. In Rangiroa, a few farms exploited about 1000 acres (4 km²) of water surface in the lagoon loan by the Tahitian government. The biggest farm, Gauguin's Pearl employed more than 50 local workers, with a strong impact on the economy of this 2000 inhabitants atoll.
A school dedicated to the pearl farming techniques and a research center on pearl oysters are also implanted on the atoll of Rangiroa, which make it a kind of pearl center for this industry.
Fishing
Essentially a part of food production, however, it is also exported to the island of Tahiti.Viticulture
The atoll of Rangiroa is also known for it vineyards, which are unique in the world. The vines grow on the edge of a lagoon beside coconuts, and produce two harvests per year. The winery is located in the heart of the village of Avatoru. The grapes are brought to the winery by boat.The creation of this vineyard came after much prior analysis, to find the best site capable of hosting the vines. The first vines were imported in 1992 and underwent tests for acclimatization and selection in the main islands of Polynesia, with the uncertainty of their adaptation to climate. Thirty varieties were imported from various parts of Europe. The vineyard is Domaine Dominique Auroy
The tests took place in:
- The Austral IslandsAustral IslandsThe Austral Islands are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific. Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely in the northwest the Tubuai Islands consisting of the Îles Maria, Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai...
on the high Rurutu and Tubuai, - Nuku HivaNuku HivaNuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as Île Marchand and Madison Island....
(Marquesas archipelago), - Rangiroa (Tuamotu archipelago),
- The plains and mountains of TahitiTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
.
The atoll of Rangiroa was selected for the following reasons: absence of grapevine pest such as defoliating insects (e.g. Grape Phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
) and its proximity to Tahiti. The varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
s grown on the atoll include Carignan, Italia and Black Muscat
Black Muscat
Black Muscat is a Vitis vinifera grape variety derived from the crossing of the Schiava Grossa and Muscat of Alexandria varieties. It is known under a variety of local names such as Golden Hamburg, and Black Hamburg in the US; Muscat de Hambourg in France; Moscato di Amburgo in Italy; and Muscat...
.
However, other fruit is very scarce on the island and the inhabitants appreciate when cruise ship visitors bring them fruit.
Water
Like many atolls, there is no running water in Rangiroa. Each household must retrieve and store rainwater in tanks. The freshwater lenses which form in coral reefs mostly consist of brackish waterBrackish water
Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...
due to excessive pumping, leading to saltwater intrusion
Saltwater intrusion
Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers. Most often, it is caused by ground-water pumping from coastal wells, or from construction of navigation channels or oil field canals. The channels and canals provide conduits for salt water to be brought into fresh...
. Some are also polluted because of the landfill.
Tourism
Tourism is a major economic activity of the island: daily connections with Tahiti, an exceptional lagoon and passes which are good sites for scuba diving attract a steady number of tourists. These are accommodated in some hotels and guesthouses.Scuba diving
Tiputa Pass
Tiputa Pass is a strait in the northwest portion of Rangiroa lagoon in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia, joining the lagoon to the open ocean. There are only two such passes in Rangiroa, the second one being Avatoru Pass. Tiputa Pass separates the villages of Avatoru and Tiputa.- Scuba...
, which lies at one end of the one main road and runs 3.5 km to the Avatoru Pass.
Sedentary common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) regularly play group in the Pass. They can be viewed from the mainland but it is also one of the few places where they can be approached in scuba diving.
Because of its large size and the existence of only two passes, each high tide creates a strong incoming current while each low tide creates a strong outgoing current in those two passes.
When the current is flowing inward through Tiputa Pass, about 200 shark specimens gather at the entrance to the Tiputa Pass, at fifty meters deep. Led by the strong current, sharks can remain motionless and allow divers to observe them without any difficulty. Large manta rays, green sea turtle
Green Sea Turtle
The Green sea turtle or green turtle is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
s, and humphead wrasse
Humphead wrasse
The humphead wrasse is a wrasse that is mainly found in coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also known as the Māori wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, Napoleonfish; or "So Mei" 蘇眉 and "Mameng" ....
s can also be seen. Occasionally, tiger shark
Tiger shark
The tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, is a species of requiem shark and the only member of the genus Galeocerdo. Commonly known as sea tigers, tiger sharks are relatively large macropredators, capable of attaining a length of over . It is found in many tropical and temperate waters, and is...
s and hammerhead shark
Hammerhead shark
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna while the...
s can also be spotted. In January, large number of stingrays gather in the Tiputa Pass, as well as hammerhead sharks that feed on them.
A notable site in the atoll is the famous Blue Lagoon, which is a smaller lagoon formed on the southwestern edge of Rangiroa. Its shallow waters accentuate the bright blue color of the water. The Pink Sands are sandbars surrounded by numerous ro'a are located on the southeastern portion of Rangiroa.
Transportation
Air transportation is available at Rangiroa AirportRangiroa Airport
Rangiroa Airport is an airport on the island of Rangiroa, French Polynesia . The airport is located on the northwestern edge of the atoll, 5.5 km southeast of Avatoru. The airport was built in 1965. Air Tahiti has regular daily flights connecting Rangiroa to other atolls of the French Polynesia...
, located on the Avatoru Island, with flights to Tahiti and other atolls of the French Polynesia. There is also a small road circling the island of Avatoru. It is made of tarmac
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
and coral chips.
External links
- Rangiroa on Oceandots
- Island names
- le Maire & Schouten
- Charles Wilkes
- Atoll list (in French)
- Classification of the French Polynesian atolls by Salvat (1985)
- The official site of Tahiti's wine
See also
- French PolynesiaFrench PolynesiaFrench 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...
- Tiputa Pass Rangiroa
- Avatoru Pass Rangiroa