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Tureia (also called Papahena) is an atoll
Atoll

An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely....
 in the Tuamotu Archipelago
Tuamotus

The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago are a chain of atolls in French Polynesia and the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe....
 in French Polynesia
French Polynesia

French Polynesia is a France overseas collectivity in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory ....
.

Tureia atoll is 15 km long and has a maximum width of 8 km. A very long island covers completely its eastern reef. The lagoon has no entrance. The village of Hakamaru (or Fakamaru), population 261, is the only settlement on Tureia, at the northern tip of the atoll. Almost the entire arable land on Tureia is dedicated to growing coconut
Coconut

The Coconut Palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaf 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth....
s.






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Encyclopedia


Tureia (also called Papahena) is an atoll
Atoll

An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely....
 in the Tuamotu Archipelago
Tuamotus

The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago are a chain of atolls in French Polynesia and the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe....
 in French Polynesia
French Polynesia

French Polynesia is a France overseas collectivity in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory ....
.

Tureia atoll is 15 km long and has a maximum width of 8 km. A very long island covers completely its eastern reef. The lagoon has no entrance. The village of Hakamaru (or Fakamaru), population 261, is the only settlement on Tureia, at the northern tip of the atoll. Almost the entire arable land on Tureia is dedicated to growing coconut
Coconut

The Coconut Palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaf 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth....
s. The population in this atoll has risen. In 1977 there were only 121 inhabitants.

History

The first recorded European to arrive to Tureia was Captain Edward Edwards in 1791, during his search for the Bounty mutineers
Mutiny on the Bounty

The mutiny on the HMS Bounty occurred aboard a Royal Navy ship on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films and popular songs....
. Edwards called the atoll "Carysfort", after John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort
John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort

John Joshua Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort Order of St Patrick, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Fellow of the Royal Society , was an United Kingdom Whig Party politician....
.

From 1966 to 1999, Tureia hosted an outpost of the Centre d'Expérimentation du Pacifique, the French authority supervising nuclear tests on the nearby atolls of 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....
 and Fangataufa
Fangataufa

Fangataufa is a small, low, narrow, coral atoll in the eastern side of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Along with its neighboring atoll, Moruroa, it has been the site of approximately 200 nuclear bomb tests....
, which lie about 70 miles/115 kilometers south of Tureia. There was also a weather station
Weather station

A weather station is a facility with instruments and equipment to make observations of Earth's atmosphere conditions in order to provide information to make weather forecasting and to study the weather and climate....
 on Tureia during those years. Currently, both installations have been abandoned.

This atoll has a 3,000 feet (900 meters)-long airstrip . Tureia Airport was inaugurated in 1985.

Administration

Administratively Tureia Atoll is the capital 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 Fangataufa
Fangataufa

Fangataufa is a small, low, narrow, coral atoll in the eastern side of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Along with its neighboring atoll, Moruroa, it has been the site of approximately 200 nuclear bomb tests....
, 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....
.

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