Ahe
Encyclopedia
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
, located in the northern Tuamotu Archipelago
Tuamotus
The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago are a chain of islands and atolls in French Polynesia. They form the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe...
, just 14 km to the west of Manihi
Manihi
Manihi, or Paeua, is a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. It is one of the northernmost of the Tuamotus, located in the King George subgroup. The closest land to Manihi is Ahe Atoll, located 14 km to the west...
, in French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . 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...
.
Ahe Atoll's ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon.
Length 23.5 km, width 12.2 km. Latitude 14° 30'; Longitude S 146° 20' W.
Ahe Atoll has 441 inhabitants. The only village in Ahe is Tenukupara with approximately 100 inhabitants. It is located on an island in the south side of the Atoll.
Geographically Ahe Atoll is part of the King George Islands
King George Islands
The King George Islands is a subgroup of the Tuamotus Archipelago group in French Polynesia.The King George Islands include four atolls and one island:* Ahe* Manihi* Takapoto* Takaroa* Tikei Island...
(Iles du Roi Georges) subgroup, which includes Ahe, Manihi
Manihi
Manihi, or Paeua, is a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. It is one of the northernmost of the Tuamotus, located in the King George subgroup. The closest land to Manihi is Ahe Atoll, located 14 km to the west...
, Takapoto
Takapoto
Takapoto, Tua-poto or Oura, is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia.Length 17 km, width 6.4 km. Latitude 14° 42'; Longitude S 145° 15' W.The nearest land is Takaroa Atoll, located 10 km to the Northeast....
, Takaroa
Takaroa
Takaroa, Taka-roa or Takapua, is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. Length 27.4 km, width 7 km. Latitude 14° 27'; Longitude S 144° 59' W.The nearest land is Takapoto Atoll, located 10 km to the Southwest....
and Tikei
Tikei
Tikei, also known as Manu, Tikai and Tiku is an island in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. Tikei is not a typical Tuamotu atoll, but a separate island. Maximum length: 2.8 Km, maximum width 1.2 Km...
.
There are several pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
farms in Ahe's lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
.
Historical data
The first recorded Europeans to arrive to Ahe Atoll were Dutch mariners Willem SchoutenWillem Schouten
Willem Cornelisz Schouten was a Dutch navigator for the Dutch East India Company. He was the first to sail the Cape Horn route to the Pacific Ocean.- Biography :Willem Cornelisz Schouten was born in c...
and Jacob Le Maire
Jacob Le Maire
Jacob Le Maire was a Dutch mariner who circumnavigated the earth in 1615-16. The strait between Tierra del Fuego and Isla de los Estados was named the Le Maire Strait in his honor, though not without controversy...
in 1616.
Ahe was later visited by the historic United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...
called the atoll "Peacock Island" after one of the ships of the expedition.
This atoll has sometimes suffered damages caused by cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
s.
Ahe has a territorial (domestic) airport which was inaugurated in 1997.