Hikueru
NASA picture of Hikueru Atoll
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 Hikueru
Location in French Polynesia
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 17°35′20″S 142°37′00″W / 17.58889°S 142.61667°WCoordinates: 17°35′20″S 142°37′00″W / 17.58889°S 142.61667°W |
| Archipelago | Tuamotus |
| Area | 79 km2 (31 sq mi) (lagoon) 8 km2 (3 sq mi) (above water) |
| Length | 15 km (9.3 mi) |
| Width | 9.5 km (5.9 mi) |
| Administration | |
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France
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| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
| Administrative subdivision | Îles Tuamotu-Gambier |
| Commune | Hikueru |
| Largest settlement | Tupapati |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 150 (2012) |
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.
Hikueru Atoll's shape is roughly oval and it is 15 km in length and 9.5 km in width. It covers a land area of 8 km² and a lagoon area of 79 km². There are many motu on its reef with a combined land area of about 25 km². Its lagoon is deep, with numerous coral heads. It has no pass to enter it.
At the 2012 census, the population of the commune of Hikueru was 241, of which 150 on Hikueru proper, and 91 on the atoll of Marokau. Its most important village is Tupapati, located on the atoll Hikueru. There is a territorial airport on Hikueru which was opened in 2000.
Hikueru was the setting for Armstrong Sperry's novel Call It Courage, which won the Newbery Medal in 1940.
Hikueru Atoll was discovered by Bougainville in 1768. Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea sighted Hikueru in 1774 on his ship the Aguila. He named this atoll "San Juan".
Like Marokau, Hikueru used to be a large natural pearl oyster reserve. The 1903 cyclone wrought considerable damage, however, and caused the death of 377 people, including 261 from the island of Hao. In his "South Sea Tales", Jack London gives a vivid description of this disastrous hurricane.
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Wikipedia