Tahanea Atoll is an 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...

 of 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 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 12 km to the east of Faaite

Faaite

Faaite, or Faaiti, is an atoll of the Tuamotus in French Polynesia. It is located 60 km to the north of Anaa Atoll. The total surface of the atoll is 230 km². Its dry land area is 9 km². Its length is 28 km and its width 10.5 km.Faaite's inner lagoon has a navigable...

 Atoll.

Tahanea Atoll is quite large. It measures 48 km in length with a maximum width of 15.2 km. The southern reef fringing the atoll is wider than the northern one, but the largest islands are on the narrower northern rim. Tahanea has a wide and deep lagoon with a surface of 545 km². There are three deep, navigable, passes into the lagoon, which are called Motupuapua, Teavatapu and Otao.

Tahanea is uninhabited, but it is visited occasionally by islanders from neighboring atolls.

History

The first recorded European to sight Tahanea was Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea 1774 on ship Aguila. He named this atoll "San Julián".

Russian oceanic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen

Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen was an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, cartographer and explorer, who ultimately rose to the rank of Admiral...

 visited Tahanea in 1820 on ships Vostok and Mirni. He named this atoll "Chichagov" .

Administration

Tahanea belongs to the commune of Anaa

Anaa

Anaa, Nganaa-nui is an atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago, in French Polynesia. It is located in the north-west of the archipelago, 350 km to the east of Tahiti. It oval in shape, 29.5 km in length and 6.5 km wide, with a total area 38 km²...

 that also includes the associated commune of Faaite with the atoll of Faaite and the uninhabited atolls of Tahanea and Motutunga

Motutunga

Motutunga Atoll is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 17 km to the east of Tahanea Atoll.Motutunga Atoll is roughly triangular in shape. It measures 15 km in length with a maximum width of 14 km. The reef fringing the atoll is continuous. There are...

.

External links

• Atoll list (in French)