Hao (French Polynesia)

Hao

NASA picture of Hao Atoll
Hao
Geography
Location Pacific Ocean
Coordinates 18°4′31″S 140°56′43″W / 18.07528°S 140.94528°W / -18.07528; -140.94528
Archipelago Tuamotus
Area 720 km2 (280 sq mi)  (lagoon)
47 km2 (18 sq mi) (above water)
Length 50 km (31 mi)
Width 14 km (8.7 mi)
Highest elevation 3 m (10 ft)
Administration
France
Overseas collectivity French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision Tuamotus
Commune Hao
Largest settlement Otepa
Demographics
Population 1066[1] (2012)
Hao

Flag of Hao
Coordinates: 18°04′31″S 140°56′43″W / 18.0753°S 140.9453°W / -18.0753; -140.9453Coordinates: 18°04′31″S 140°56′43″W / 18.0753°S 140.9453°W / -18.0753; -140.9453
Country France
Overseas collectivity French Polynesia
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Suzanne Merehau
Area 123 km2 (47 sq mi)
Population (2012)1 1,317
 • Density 11/km2 (28/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 98720 / 98767
Elevation 0–3 m (0.0–9.8 ft)
1 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Hao, or Haorangi,[2] is a large coral atoll in the central part of the Tuamotu Archipelago. It has ca. 1000 people living on almost 50 km2 and used to house the military support base for the nuclear tests on Mururoa. Because of its shape, French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville named it Harp Island.

Geography

Hao is located 920 km to the east of Tahiti. It is 50 km long and 14 km wide. The lagoon is the 4th largest atoll in French Polynesia (after Rangiroa, Fakarava and Makemo) and has only one navigable passage, at Kaki, on the north end of the atoll where strong currents prevail up to 20 knots with bores. The lagoon covers an area of 720 km².

The climate is maritime, with temperatures oscillating between 23 and 32 °C throughout the year.

The chief town is the village of Otepa, where the main economic activity is the cultivation of pearls.

A view of Hao cemetery

History

The first recorded European arriving on Hao was Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 10 February 1606. He named it Conversion de San Pablo.[3] He was followed by José Andía y Varela in 1774.

Because of its shape, French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville named it Harp Island. In some maps it also appears as Bow Island.[2]

Hao was the first atoll of the Tuamotus that Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen visited in 1820 on the ships Vostok and Mirni.

In the late 1980s, two French intelligence (DGSE) operatives were briefly confined to the military base on the island after France obtained their release from a New Zealand prison for sinking the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior. Their earlier-than-agreed-upon repatriation from the island by the French government became a diplomatic incident between New Zealand and France.

Hao's military airfield, now known as Hao Airport, was transferred to the civilian authorities in the year 2000. This airport (IATA: HOI, ICAO: NTTO) serves many of the smaller eastern Tuamotus, whose landing strips are too short to land aircraft large enough to make the flight to Tahiti.

The economic future of the atoll remains in question: the military base, which was the support base for the nuclear testing on the nearby Mururoa atoll, was permanently shut down in 2002, along with its many support facilities, including the electrical and desalinization plants and the hospital. The livelihood of many of the atoll's inhabitants was directly tied to the military base activity.

Administration

Hao forms the commune of Hao (Main village: Otepa), which also includes Ahunui (uninhabited), Nengonengo, Manuhangi (uninhabited) and Paraoa (uninhabited). As of the 2012 census, the atoll's total population was 1066.

The commune of Hao is associated with the commune of Amanu and the commune of Hereheretue.

Demographics

Atoll Population 2012 Area (km²)
Hao 1066 47
Amanu 192 28
Hereheretue 56 1
Tauere 3 2
NengoNengo 0 9
Manuhangi 0 1
Anuanuraro (Duke of Gloucester Islands) 0 18
Anuanurunga (Duke of Gloucester Islands) 0 7
Nukutepipi (Duke of Gloucester Islands) 0 1
Ahunui 0 3
Rekareka 0 2
Paraoa 0 4
Total 1317 123

Transport

Hao Airport (IATA: HOI, ICAO: NTTO) is situated to the north of the island and is used as a base by Air Tahiti Nui, the domestic airline of French Polynesia.

Related article

References

  1. ↑ "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  2. 1 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.
  3. ↑ Kelly, Celsus, O.F.M. La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo. The Journal of Fray Martín de Munilla O.F.M. and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernández de Quirós to the South Sea (1605-1606) and the Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617-1627) Cambridge, 1966, p.39,62.
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