Moruroa

Moruroa
NASA picture of Moruroa Atoll
Moruroa is located in French Polynesia
Moruroa
Moruroa
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates21°50′S 138°50′W / 21.833°S 138.833°W / -21.833; -138.833
ArchipelagoTuamotus
Area148 km2 (57 sq mi)  (lagoon)
15 km2 (5.8 sq mi) (above water)
Length28 km (17.4 mi)
Width11 km (6.8 mi)
Administration
France
Overseas collectivityFrench Polynesia
Administrative subdivisionTuamotus
CommuneTureia
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited[1] (2012)

Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni,[2] is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about 1,250 kilometres (780 mi) southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll is part of the commune of Tureia, which includes the atolls of Tureia, Fangataufa, Tematangi and Vanavana. France undertook nuclear weapon tests between 1966 and 1996 at Moruroa and Fangataufa, causing international protests, notably in 1974 and 1995. The number of tests performed on Moruroa has been variously reported as 175 and 181.

  1. ^ "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  2. ^ 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. Retrieved 7 January 2015.