Apataki

Template: Infobox Atoll / Maintenance / height Missing

Apataki is a coral atoll in French Polynesia. On some maps, the island is also found under the name " Hagemeister ". Geographically Apataki belongs to the Palliser Islands, which are in turn part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. Apataki belongs to the municipality Arutua. The huge lagoon of the atoll can be achieved by two passages. On the atoll live 492 people, the largest city is Niutahi.

History

Apataki is a comparatively large atoll with a lagoon area of ​​680 km ². The land area of the numerous Motus is, however, a total of only about 20 km ².

1722 the atoll was discovered by the Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen. James Cook visited the island in 1774.

Today's inhabitants live off tourism and subsistence farming. Yams, taro, breadfruit, spice vanilla ( small on some islands ) and fruit are grown mainly for their own consumption. Besides copra is produced from dried coconuts. The leaves of the trees are growing here screws for the manufacture of roofs, bags and hats.

Apataki has a 1977 finished Airfield, which is the foundation for the growing tourism. Diving and surfing are popular activities for tourists. Especially the rich underwater world is remarkable. The atoll itself has due to the small land mass on only a sparse vegetation, which provides a home for insects, lizards and birds.

Landsat satellite image of Apataki

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