geo.wikisort.org - Island

Marutea Atoll (Marutea Sud), also known as Lord Hood Island, Marutea-i-runga, and Nuku-nui, is an atoll in the far southeast of the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia. It lies in the east-northeast part of the Gambier (commune), about 72 km northeast from Maria Atoll.

Marutea Sud

NASA picture of Marutea Sud Atoll
Marutea Sud
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	21°31′S 135°33′W
Archipelago	Tuamotus
Area	112 km2 (43 sq mi)  (lagoon) 12 km2 (4.6 sq mi) (above water)
Length	20 km (12 mi)
Width	8 km (5 mi)
Administration
France
Overseas collectivity	French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision	Tuamotus
Commune	Gambier Islands
Largest settlement	Auorotini
Demographics
Population	245[1] (2016)

Marutea Atoll is irregular in shape and bound by a reef broken by passes into the 112 km² (43 sq mi) lagoon. It is 20 km (12 mi) long with a maximum width of 8 km (5 mi) and a land area of approximately 12 km² (5 sq mi). Its islands are low and flat and the main village, Auorotini, is located at the northern end of the atoll. It is populated by ex Gambier Islanders looking for pearls and maintaining the pearl farms on the atoll.

Marutea Sud should not be confused with Marutea Nord located in the western area of the Tuamotu Archipelago at 17˚ 07' S, 143˚ 11' W.

History

The first recorded European to sight this atoll was Spanish explorer Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 4 February 1606. He called it San Telmo. Other Spanish names were San Blas, given by de Quiros' captain Diego de Prado y Tovar, and Corral de Agua is found in some contemporary charts (in Spanish, water corral).[2] Marutea was later explored by Edward Edwards, while he was searching for the mutineers of HMS Bounty in 1791. Edwards renamed it "Lord Hood".

According to Russian Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern Marutea was once inhabited by the ancient Polynesians. British mariner Frederick William Beechey found a stone-walled hut upon it in 1825.

In 1984 Marutea Atoll was bought by Robert Wan, the main Tahitian black pearl trader, in order to engage in cultured black pearl farming.[3]

A private airfield was built in 1993.

Administration

Administratively Marutea Sud belongs to the commune of the Gambier (commune).

References

• Polynesian archaeological remains
• Atoll names
• Robert Wan
• Jean-Claude_Brouillet, L'ile de perles noires, Editions Robert Laffont S.A., Paris 1984

External links

• Atoll list (in French)

На других языках

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[de] Marutea Sud

Marutea Sud ist ein Atoll des Tuamotu-Archipels in Französisch-Polynesien. Das nächste Atoll Maria Est ist 72 km nordöstlich gelegen. Das Atoll, vollständig von einem Korallenriff umgeben, erreicht eine Ausdehnung von 21 km Länge mal 10 km Breite.

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- [en] Marutea Sud

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[fr] Marutea Sud

Marutea Sud, également connu sous le nom de Marutea-i-runga et de Nuku-nui, est un atoll situé dans l'archipel des Tuamotu en Polynésie française. Celui-ci fait partie de la commune de Gambier.

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[it] Marutea Sud

Marutea Sud è un atollo appartenente all'arcipelago delle Isole Tuamotu nella Polinesia francese.

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[ru] Марутеа

Марутеа (фр. Marutea Sud) — атолл в архипелаге Туамоту (Французская Полинезия). Расположен в 1400 км к юго-востоку от острова Таити. Остров следует отличать от атолла Марутео, также расположенного в архипелаге Туамоту.

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