Puka-Puka

Puka Puka
NASA picture of Puka-Puka Atoll
NASA picture of Puka-Puka Atoll
Location (in red) within the Tuamotu Archipelago
Location (in red) within the Tuamotu Archipelago
Location of Puka Puka
Map
Coordinates: 14°49′S 138°49′W / 14.82°S 138.82°W / -14.82; -138.82
CountryFrance
Overseas collectivityFrench Polynesia
SubdivisionÎles Tuamotu-Gambier
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Raphaël Villant[1]
Area
1
5 km2 (2 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)[2]
137
 • Density27/km2 (71/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−10:00
INSEE/Postal code
Elevation0 m (0 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Another NASA picture of Puka-Puka

Puka-Puka is a small inhabited coral atoll in the north-eastern Tuamotu Archipelago, sometimes included as a member of the Disappointment Islands. This atoll is quite isolated, the nearest land being Fakahina, 182 km to the southwest.

Puka-Puka Atoll has an elliptical shape. Its length is 6 km and its maximum width 3.3 km. Its land area is about 5 km2. The lagoon is filled with silt and has become very small.

The low coral islands are dry and sparsely populated. According to the 2022 census, the total population was 137.[2] The chief town is Te One Mahina, with about 110 inhabitants.

Unlike the rest of the Tuamotus, the language of the islands, Pukapukan, is Marquesic.

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ 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.