Marokau
Encyclopedia
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...
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...
. It lies 53 km southeast of Hikueru
Hikueru
Hikueru, Tiveru, or Te Kārena, is one of the Central Tuamotu atolls. The closest land to Hikueru is Tekokota Atoll, located 22 km to the north....
Atoll and it is separated by a 2 km wide sound from Ravahere
Ravahere
Ravahere is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 53 km northwest of Nengonengo Atoll and it is separated by a 2 km sound from Marokau Atoll, its closest neighbor to the north....
, its closest neighbor in the south.
Marokau and Ravahere form a minor subgroup of the Tuamotus known as the Two Groups Islands
Two Groups Islands
The Two Groups Islands is a minor subgroup of the Tuamotus in French Polynesia. It is formed by the atolls of Marokau and Ravahere.Marokau lies to the north and Ravahere to the south. The two atolls are separated by a wide sound.-History:...
.
Marokau Atoll is roughly triangular. The islands on its reef have a combined land area of 14.7 km². The shallow lagoon has a surface of 217 km².
Marokau has 55 inhabitants. Most live in Vaiori, the main village, located on an island at its northern end. The locals collect copra from the numerous coconut palms planted on the islands and motu
Motu
Motu may refer to:*Motu language, a language of Papua New Guinea*Motu proprio, a type of Papal document*MOTU, also known as "Mark of the Unicorn", a maker of professional audio hardware and software...
s. There is another small village called Topitike in its south-eastern corner.
History
The first recorded European who sighted the two neighboring atolls of Marokau and Ravahere was Louis Antoine de BougainvilleLouis Antoine de Bougainville
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of James Cook, he took part in the French and Indian War and the unsuccessful French attempt to defend Canada from Britain...
in 1768.
Marokau Atoll was one of the main locations in the Tuamotu lagoons at which pearls were collected from the nineteenth century up to 1965.
Administration
Marokau Atoll belongs to the communeCommunes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Hikueru, which consists of the atolls of Marokau, Hikueru, Ravahere, Reitoru
Reitoru
Reitoru, or Te Pirehi, is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located in center of the archipelago, 50 km southwest of Hikueru....
and Tekokota
Tekokota
Tekokota is one of the Central Tuamotu atolls, located close to the geographic center of the archipelago.Tekokota Atoll is one of the smallest atolls of the Tuamotus. Its islands have a total land mass of only 0.9 km²....
.