Arutua, or Ngaru-atua is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located 40 km SW of Rangiroa. The closest land is Apataki Atoll, only 16 km to the East.
Arutua Atoll has a roughly pentagonal shape. Length , width . The lagoon area is and the land area is . Its lagoon is wide and deep with one navigable passage. , Arutua had a population of 680 inhabitants. The main village is Rautini. There is a small airport at Arutua which was opened in 1984.
Geographically Arutua belongs to the Palliser Islands (Îles Palliser) subgroup of the Tuamotus.
History The first recorded European to visit Arutua Atoll was Jakob Roggeveen (who also first sighted Easter Island) in 1722. British mariner Frederick Beechey touched at Arutua in 1826. He named this atoll "Cockburn Island".
Administration This atoll is part of the commune of Arutua, which consists of Arutua, as well as the atolls of Apataki and Kaukura.Décret n°72-407 du 17 mai 1972 portant création de communes dans le territoire de la Polynésie française, Légifrance The seat of the commune is the village Rautini. The commune is in the administrative subdivision of the Îles Tuamotu-Gambier.Décret n° 2005-1611 du 20 décembre 2005 pris pour l'application du statut d'autonomie de la Polynésie française, Légifrance
Demographics
Island Population (2017 census)Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017 , Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française Area (km2) Area of lagoon (km2) Apataki 442 20.0 706 Arutua 808 15.0 484 Kaukura 414 11.0 434 TOTAL 1664 46.0 1624 Table 1. Current population.
Island 2007 2012 2017 Apataki 495 350 442 Arutua 725 680 808 Kaukura 541 475 414 TOTAL 1761 1505 1664 Table 2. Population over time.
Images and maps
References
- & History
External links
Arutua Atoll FP (EVS Islands)
Tuamotu Atolls List (Pacific Image)