Tureia

Tureia (also called Papahena) is an atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia.

Tureia
Tureia
Tureia
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates20°46′16″S 138°33′53″W
ArchipelagoTuamotus
Area47 km2 (18 sq mi)  (lagoon)
8 km2 (3 sq mi) (above water)
Length15 km (9.3 mi)
Width8 km (5 mi)
Administration
France
Overseas collectivityFrench Polynesia
Administrative subdivisionTuamotus
CommuneTureia
Largest settlementHakamaru
Demographics
Population275[1] (2017)
Tureia
Commune
NASA image of Tureia Atoll.
Location of Tureia
Coordinates: 20°46′16″S 138°33′53″W
CountryFrance
Overseas collectivityFrench Polynesia
SubdivisionÎles Tuamotu-Gambier
Area
8 km2 (3 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
336
 • Density42/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−10:00
INSEE/Postal code
98755 /

Tureia atoll is 15 km long and has a maximum width of 8 kilometres (5.0 miles); its total land area is 8 km2. A very long island covers completely its eastern reef. The lagoon has no navigable entrance.

The village of Hakamaru (or Fakamaru) is the only settlement on Tureia, at the northern tip of the atoll. Almost all of the arable land on Tureia is dedicated to growing coconuts. The population in this atoll has risen to 275 in 2017;[1] in 1977 there were only 121 inhabitants.

History

The first recorded European to arrive at Tureia was Captain Edward Edwards in 1791, during his search for the Bounty mutineers. Edwards called the atoll "Carysfort", after John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort.

From 1966 to 1999, Tureia hosted an outpost of the Centre d'Expérimentation du Pacifique, the French authority supervising nuclear tests on the nearby atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa, which lie about 115 km south of Tureia. There was also a weather station on Tureia during those years. Currently, both installations have been abandoned.

This atoll has a 900 m-long airstrip (IATA: ZTA, ICAO: NTGY). Tureia Airport was inaugurated in 1985.

Map of Tureia Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia

Administration

Administratively Tureia Atoll is part of the commune of Tureia, which also includes the atolls of Fangataufa, Moruroa, Tematangi and Vanavana.[2]

References
  1. Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017, Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française
  2. Décret n°72-407 du 17 mai 1972 portant création de communes dans le territoire de la Polynésie française, Légifrance



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