Penrhyn Atoll
| Native name: Tongareva | |
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Aerial view of Penrhyn
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| Geography | |
| Location | Central-Southern Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 9°00′20″S 157°58′10″W / 9.00556°S 157.96944°W |
| Archipelago | Cook Islands |
| Area | 9.8 km2 (3.8 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 357 (2001) |
| Ethnic groups | Polynesian |
Penrhyn (also called Tongareva, Mangarongaro, Hararanga, and Te Pitaka) is an island in the northern group of the Cook Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. The northernmost island in the group, it is located at 1,365 km (848 mi) north-north-east of the capital island of Rarotonga, 9 degrees south of the equator. Its nearest neighbours are Rakahanga, and Manihiki, approximately 322 kilometres (200 mi) to the southwest.
Penrhyn is a roughly circular coral atoll with a circumference of approximately 77 km (48 mi), enclosing a lagoon with an area of 233 square kilometres (90 sq mi). The atoll is atop the highest submarine volcano in the Cook Islands, rising 4,876 metres (15,997 ft) from the ocean floor. The atoll is low-lying, with a maximum elevation of less than 5 metres (16 ft). The total land area was 9.84 square kilometres (3.80 sq mi). The population according to the 2001 census was 351 inhabitants, with a decrease by 2011 to only 213 inhabitants.
Penrhyn's original name was Tongareva. Academic research published by the Cook Islands Library and Museum says this is variously translated as "Tonga floating in space", "Tonga-in-the-skies" and "A way from the South". However, the most commonly used name in English is Penrhyn after the Lady Penrhyn commanded by Captain William Crofton Sever, who passed by the island on 8 August 1788. Penrhyn means "peninsula" in Welsh. Another European name was Bennett Island.Lady Penrhyn was one of a fleet of 11 ships which sailed from the Isle of Wight (off the south coast of the UK) to found the earliest convict colony in Australia.
Penrhyn Atoll has two villages. The main village of Omoka, seat of Penrhyn Island Council, is on Moananui Islet, on the western rim of the atoll, north of the airport. The village of Te Tautua is on Pokerekere Islet (also known as Pokerere or Tautua), on the eastern rim.
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Wikipedia