- Vairaatea
Vairaatea is a small atoll of the
Tuamotu group inFrench Polynesia . Geographically Vairaatea Atoll is part of the East-central subgroup of the Tuamotus, which includesAhunui ,Amanu ,Fangatau ,Hao andNukutavake . Nukutavake, the closest land, lies 38 km to the east.Vairaatea Atoll measures 8 km in length and its width is about 4 km. Its reef has a roughly triangular shape. There are two long islands on it. The reef completely encloses a 13 km² lagoon. Landing on this atoll is difficult on account of the surf and the lack of a safe anchorage.
In 1989 Vairaatea was inhabited by eight families living in a village at the northern end of Puka Runga, the only inhabited island. According to the 1996 census there were 70 people living in Vairaatea.
History
The first recorded European who arrived to Vairaatea was the Spanish explorer
Pedro Fernández de Quirós in 1606. He named this atoll "San Miguel Arcángel".Englishman
Samuel Wallis visited Vairaatea in 1767. He named it "Lord Egmont". In some maps it also appears as "Industriel".Administration
Administratively Vairaatea is a commune associated to the commune of Nukutavake.
References
* [http://www.evs-islands.com/2006/11/vairaatea-atoll-fp-repost.html Pictures and map]
* [http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/tuamotu/vairaatea.htm]
* [http://www.univie.ac.at/Voelkerkunde/apsis/oceania/wallis.htm Samuel Wallis (in German)]
* [http://www.hawaii.edu/geog_mr/online/vairaatea.html visit to Vairaatea]
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