Temoe

Temoe, or Te Moe, is a small atoll of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the far southeast of the Tuamotu group archipelago. It lies about 37 km southeast from the Gambier Islands and more than 1,700 kilometres (1,100 miles) southeast from Mataiva, at the other end of the Tuamotu archipelago.

Temoe
NASA picture of Temoe Atoll
Temoe
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates23°20′S 134°28′W
ArchipelagoTuamotus
Area12 km2 (4.6 sq mi)  (lagoon)
2.1 km2 (0.8 sq mi) (above water)
Length6.8 km (4.23 mi)
Width4.2 km (2.61 mi)
Administration
France
Overseas collectivityFrench Polynesia
Administrative subdivisionTuamotus
CommuneGambier Islands
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited[1] (2012)

Temoe Atoll is trapezoidal in shape and bound by a continuous reef with many small shallow spillways. It is 6.8 kilometres (4.2 miles) and has a maximum width of 4.2 kilometres (2.6 miles). The lagoon has a maximum depth of 23 metres (75 feet).[2] Its islands are low and flat and the lagoon has no navigable pass to enter it.

Temoe is permanently uninhabited. Administratively it belongs to the commune of the Gambier Islands.[3]

25 kilometres (16 miles) southwest of Temoe Atoll lies Portland Reef, a submerged shoal lying at a depth of about 10 metres (33 feet) .[4]

History

Temoe was formerly inhabited. There are ancient Polynesian archaeological remains on this lonely atoll; foremost among these are temple structures (marae).[5]

It is said that buccaneer Edward Davis might have arrived at Temoe and Mangareva in 1686. But there is no historical proof of this fact.[6]

The first recorded European to effectively arrive at Temoe was British mariner James Wilson on the ship Duff in 1797. Captain Wilson named this atoll "Crescent Island".[7]

In 1838 Christian missionaries moved all the inhabitants of Temoe to Mangareva to help in construction work.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  2. Status of Coral Reefs in French Polynesia
  3. "Oceandots - Temoe". Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-03-07.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  4. Classification Bernard Salvat (85) : English translation Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Mangareva
  6. The Geographical Journal, Vol. 65, No. 6, Jun., 1925 - The Riddle of the Pacific
  7. - The Geographical Journal, Vol. 50, No. 1, Jul., 1917 - Notes on Easter Island
  8. Mangareva, Tahiti - Death of a People
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