 NASA picture of Hikueru Atoll | |
  Hikueru Location in French Polynesia | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 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 | |
France | |
| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
| Administrative subdivision | Îles Tuamotu-Gambier |
| Commune | Hikueru |
| Largest settlement | Tupapati |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 125[1] (2022) |
Hikueru, Tiveru, or Te Kārena,[2] 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.
At the 2022 census, the population of the commune of Hikueru was 199, of which 125 on Hikueru proper, and 74 on the atoll of Marokau.[1] 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 Jack London's short story "The House of Mapuhi" in South Sea Tales (1911) and Armstrong Sperry's novel Call It Courage, which won the Newbery Medal in 1941.
- ^ a b "Les résultats du recensement de la population 2022 de Polynésie française" [Results of the 2022 population census of French Polynesia] (PDF) (in French). Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. January 2023.
- ^ Young, J.L. (1899). "Names of the Paumotu Islands, with the old names so far as they are known". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 8 (4): 264–268. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2015.