Puka-Puka
Puka Puka | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 14°49′S 138°49′W / 14.82°S 138.82°W | |
Country | France |
Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
Subdivision | Îles Tuamotu-Gambier |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Raphaël Villant[1] |
Area 1 | 5 km2 (2 sq mi) |
Population (2017) | 163 |
• Density | 33/km2 (84/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC−10:00 |
INSEE/Postal code | 98737 / |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Puka-Puka is a small inhabited coral atoll in the north-eastern Tuamotu Archipelago, sometimes included as a member of the Disappointment Islands. This atoll is quite isolated, the nearest land being Fakahina, 182 km to the southwest.
Puka-Puka Atoll has an elliptical shape. Its length is 6 km and its maximum width 3.3 km. Its land area is about 5 km2. The lagoon is filled with silt and has become very small.
The low coral islands are dry and sparsely populated. According to the 2017 census, the total population was 163.[2] The chief town is Te One Mahina, with about 110 inhabitants.
Unlike the rest of the Tuamotus, the language of the islands,
History
Puka-Puka was the first of the Tuamotus sighted by the Spanish expedition of
Dutch explorers
On 30 July 1947, Thor Heyerdahl and his six-man expedition aboard the raft Kon Tiki made their first sighting of land since departing Callao, Peru when they passed by Puka-Puka.
The islands were devastated by a typhoon in 1996. However, with French assistance, Te One Mahina has been rebuilt.
Puka-Puka Airport was inaugurated in 1979.
Administration
Puka-Puka is the name of the administrative
See also
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017" [Distribution of the population in French Polynesia in 2017] (PDF). Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française (in French). 14 December 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- JSTOR 20703766.
- ^ Décret n°72-407 du 17 mai 1972 portant création de communes dans le territoire de la Polynésie française, Légifrance
- oceandots.com/pacific/tuamotu/pukapuka.php at the Wayback Machine (archived December 23, 2010)
- Puka-Puka Airport
- le Maire & Schouten
External links