- Paraoa
Paraoa, Tohora, or Hariri is a small atoll of the central Tuamotu Archipelago in
French Polynesia . It is located 76 km south of Hao Atoll's westernmost point. The closest land isManuhangi Atoll, 52 km to the east.Paraoa Atoll is oval in shape. It measures 8.5 km in length with a maximum width of 5.5 km. Its lagoon is not connected to the ocean by a pass, which makes this small atoll quite inaccessible. Paraoa Atoll is uninhabited.
History
The first recorded European who arrived to Paraoa was Englishman
Samuel Wallis in 1767. He named it "Gloucester".Administration
Paraoa belongs to the commune of Hao (Main village: Otepa), which includes
Ahunui (uninhabited),Nengonengo ,Manuhangi (uninhabited) andParaoa (uninhabited).References
* [http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/tuamotu/paraoa.htm]
* [http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/french_polynesia/map/m1897091/paraoa.html Map]
* [http://www.univie.ac.at/Voelkerkunde/apsis/oceania/wallis.htm Samuel Wallis (in German)]
* [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]External links
* [http://www.presidence.pf/sitedown.php Presidency of French Polynesia site]
* [http://www.pacific-image.pf/pages/boutic/dboutic_cdrom_sp132.html Atoll list (in French)]
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