Amanu

Infobox Islands
name =Amanu


image caption = NASA picture of Amanu Atoll

locator

native name =
native name link =
location =Pacific Ocean
coordinates=coord|17|48|22|S|140|45|39|W
archipelago = Tuamotu archipelago
total islands =
major islands =
area =lagoon: 240 km²
territory above water: 9.6 km²
highest mount =
elevation =
country =France
country admin divisions title =commune
country admin divisions =Hao (French Polynesia)
country largest city =Ikitake
country largest city population =
population =163
population as of =2002
density =17
ethnic groups =

Amanu, Timanu, or Karere, is an atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago. Amanu lies at right angles to neighbouring Hao Atoll; this orientation is quite rare for the Tuamotu atolls.

It is situated 900 km east of Tahiti and 15 km north of Hao. The atoll is 29 km long (northeast to southwest) and 10 km wide, but only 9.6 km² of land are above water, the rest forming the central lagoon. The surface of Amanu's wide lagoon is 240 km². There are two navigable passes to enter it.

Amanu has 166 inhabitants. The main village is Ikitake.

History

The first recorded European who arrived to Amanu Atoll was Spanish navigator Pedro Fernández de Quirós on February 12 1606, while sailing across the Pacific Ocean.

Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen visited Amanu in 1820 on ships "Vostok" and "Mirni". He named this atoll "Moller".

Administration

Administratively Amanu forms a commune in French Polynesia which includes the atolls of Rekareka (uninhabited) and Tauere.The Amanu commune is associated with the Hao commune.

References

* [http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/tuamotu/amanu.htm]
* [http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_8_1899/Volume_8,_No._4,_December_1899/Names_of_the_Paumotu_Islands,_by_J.L._Young,_p_264-268?action=null Atoll names]
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-BucExpl-t1-body-d19-d2-d7.html Bellingshausen]

External links

* [http://www.pacific-image.pf/pages/boutic/dboutic_cdrom_sp132.html Atoll list (in French)]
* [http://www.com.univ-mrs.fr/IRD/atollpol/irdpoly/uksalv85.htm Classification of the French Polynesian atolls by Salvat (1985)]