Tekokota is one of the Central Tuamotu atolls, located close to the geographic center of the archipelago.
 NASA picture of Tekokota Atoll | |
  Tekokota | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 17°19′S 142°37′W / 17.317°S 142.617°W |
| Archipelago | Tuamotus |
| Area | 5.1 km2 (2.0 sq mi) (lagoon) 0.9 km2 (0.3 sq mi) (above water) |
| Length | 5 km (3.1 mi) |
| Width | 3.5 km (2.17 mi) |
| Administration | |
France | |
| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
| Administrative subdivision | Tuamotus |
| Commune | Hikueru |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited[1] (2012) |
Tekokota Atoll is one of the smallest atolls of the Tuamotus. Its islands have a total land mass of only 0.9 square kilometres (0.3 square miles).
Tekokota's shape is roughly oval and it is 5 kilometres (3 miles) in length and 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) in width. The western side of Tekokota Atoll is submerged. The surface of its shallow central lagoon is 5.1 square kilometres (2.0 square miles).
Tekokota Atoll is uninhabited. The closest land to Tekokota is Hikueru Atoll, located 22 km to the south.[2]
History
editTekokota was first sighted by James Cook in 1773. He named Tekokota Atoll "Doubtful".
Months later Spanish explorer José de Andía called this atoll, "La del Peligro" (The Dangerous One). A few days later, another Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea sighted Tekokota on ship Aguila. He named this atoll "Los Mártires".[3]
The island is described from the perspective of a castaway from Hikueru in Jack London's short story "The House of Mapuhi" in South Sea Tales (1911).
Administration
editTekokota Atoll belongs to the commune of Hikueru, which consists of the atolls of Hikueru, Marokau, Ravahere, Reitoru and Tekokota.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ "Oceandots". Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ NZTEC - Boenechea and Gayangos
External links
edit- NZTEC - Spanish voyages of the 18th century
- Atoll list (in French) Archived 2007-02-28 at the Wayback Machine
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