Arutua

Template: Infobox Atoll / Maintenance / height Missing

Arutua is an atoll in the same community in French Polynesia. Arutua one of the Îles Palliser, a subgroup of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Arutua means " wave of the deep sea ."

The atoll is located 406 km northwest of Tahiti, 40 km southwest from Rangiroa Atoll and 16 km east of the Apataki, the nearest island. The shape of the 31-km and 24 km wide Arutua Atoll reminiscent of a pentagon, the enclosed lagoon is wide, deep and has a navigable passage and a small island in its center. The lagoon covers an area of 484 km ², the land area of the atoll is only 15 km ².

On Arutua 725 people live according to the census in 2007, the most important settlement named Rautini. It was built from scratch by cyclones in 1983. On the island of copra and mother of pearl are made. In the lagoon there are rich fishing grounds.

History

The first European who has clearly achieved the Arutua Atoll, was Jacob Roggeveen, who discovered Easter Island, in the year 1722. 1816 Otto von Kotzebue reached the island. The name of his ship Rurik was subsequently used for the atoll.

1826 came the Briton Frederick William Beechey to Arutua and gave the atoll the name " Cockburn Iceland ".

After the main village destroyed by cyclones Rautini was rebuilt, in 1984 he received a Arutua airstrip.

The inhabitants live by Kopraproduktion, tourism and the sale of nacre.