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Fangataufa

 
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Fangataufa
 
 
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Fangataufa (Fangatafoa) is a small, low, narrow, coral
Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
 atoll
Atoll

An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely....
 in the eastern side of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Along with its neighboring atoll, Moruroa
Moruroa

Mururoa , also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean....
, it has been the site of approximately 200 nuclear bomb tests.

Access to the lagoon is through a pass lying 0.5 mile SW of the northernmost point of the atoll; the channel has a width of about 60m and a dredged depth of 6.5m. A 12m long quay, in 2.5m of water, is situated in the NE part of the lagoon; another quay, 50m long in 5m of water, and landing ramps, were constructed in its E part.






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Fangataufa (Fangatafoa) is a small, low, narrow, coral
Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
 atoll
Atoll

An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely....
 in the eastern side of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Along with its neighboring atoll, Moruroa
Moruroa

Mururoa , also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean....
, it has been the site of approximately 200 nuclear bomb tests.

Access to the lagoon is through a pass lying 0.5 mile SW of the northernmost point of the atoll; the channel has a width of about 60m and a dredged depth of 6.5m. A 12m long quay, in 2.5m of water, is situated in the NE part of the lagoon; another quay, 50m long in 5m of water, and landing ramps, were constructed in its E part. The access channel is marked, on each side, by two beacons. There is an abandoned airfield, built to accommodate medium size transport aircraft, on the NE coast of the atoll. It is reported that the pass of Fangataufa is obstructed by a chain boom. This boom can be moved by agreement with the local military authority.

History

The first recorded European to arrive to Fangataufa Atoll was Frederick William Beechey
Frederick William Beechey

Frederick William Beechey was an England naval officer and geographer.He was the son of Sir William Beechey, RA., and was born in London. In 1806 he entered the Royal Navy, and saw active service during the wars with France and United States....
 in 1826. This atoll was inhabited well into the 20th century.

Fangataufa was the site of France's
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 first two-stage thermonuclear test, code named Canopus
Canopus (nuclear test)

Canopus was the code name for France first Teller-Ulam Thermonuclear weapons test, conducted on August 24, 1968 at Fangataufa atoll.In 1966, France was able to use nuclear fusion fuel to boosted fission weapon plutonium implosion devices with the Rigel shot....
, detonated on August 24, 1968. The nuclear explosion
Nuclear explosion

A nuclear explosion occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from an intentionally high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion based weapons have used a fission device to initiate fusion, and a pure fusion weapon...
 had a yield of 2.6 megatons. The atoll was also the location of 3 other atmospheric nuclear tests as well as several underground nuclear tests. Today, Fangataufa serves as a wildlife sanctuary for various species of birds.

Fangataufa is permanently uninhabited. It is classified as a Common Military Zone. The zone includes the lagoon areas enclosed by the atoll and by baselines linking the closet points emerging from the reef on both sides of the channel. Entry is prohibited without authorization.

Administration

Administratively Fangataufa Atoll is part of the commune of Tureia
Tureia

Tureia is an atoll in the Tuamotus in French Polynesia.Tureia atoll is 15 km long and has a maximum width of 8 km. A very long island covers completely its eastern reef....
, which includes the atolls of Tureia
Tureia

Tureia is an atoll in the Tuamotus in French Polynesia.Tureia atoll is 15 km long and has a maximum width of 8 km. A very long island covers completely its eastern reef....
, Moruroa
Moruroa

Mururoa , also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean....
, Tematangi
Tematangi

Tematangi or Tematangui is an atoll in the southeastern area of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Tematangi's nearest neighbor is Mururoa, which is located 161 km to the ESE....
 and Vanavana
Vanavana

Vanavana, Kurataki, or Huataki is an atoll in the southeastern area of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Vanavana's nearest neighbor is Tureia, which is located 58 km to the east....
. It was ceded to France for nuclear tests in 1964.

See also

  • Bengt Danielsson
    Bengt Danielsson

    Bengt Emmerik Danielsson was an anthropologist and a crew member on the Kon-Tiki raft expedition from South America to French Polynesia in 1947....
    , a member of Kon-Tiki
    Kon-Tiki

    Kon-Tiki is the raft used by Norway explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl in his 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesia....
     crew; an outspoken critic of nuclear testing
  • force de frappe
    Force de frappe

    The force de frappe is the designation of what used to be a nuclear triad French Nuclear Forces, part of the military of France. France has the List of countries with nuclear weapons#Estimated worldwide nuclear stockpiles in the world, after Russia and weapons of mass destruction and the Nuclear weapons and the United States....
  • FOST