 NASA picture of Tepoto Atoll | |
  Tepoto (South) | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 16°48′S144°16′W / 16.800°S 144.267°W /-16.800; -144.267 |
| Archipelago | Tuamotus |
| Area | 2.5 km2 (0.97 sq mi) (lagoon) 0.6 square kilometres (0.2 square miles) (above water) |
| Length | 3.8 km (2.36 mi) |
| Width | 3.8 km (2.36 mi) |
| Administration | |
France | |
| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
| Administrative subdivision | Tuamotus |
| Commune | Makemo |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited[1] (2012) |
Tepoto Atoll (Tepoto Sud), orTi Poto, is a small atoll of theTuamotu Archipelago inFrench Polynesia. It is located 44 kilometres (27 miles) southwest ofMakemo Atoll.
Tepoto Atoll is almost round in shape. It measures 3.8 kilometres (2 miles) in diameter. Its lovely turquoise-blue lagoon is connected to the ocean by a narrow channel in the north-east.
This atoll is sometimes calledTepoto Sud inFrench, to distinguish it from the island ofTepoto, approximately 400 kilometres (249 miles) to the northeast in theDisappointment Islands.
The small group formed byTepoto Sud,Hiti andTuanake is also known as the "Raevski Atolls". TheTuamotu reed warbler and thePolynesian ground dove are found in this area.
Tepoto Atoll is permanently uninhabited.
According to articles inIreland's Own and theTimes Educational Supplement Website, the atoll is identified by Tony Crowley as being the site of buried treasure stolen during the 19th century by four adventurers from a church inPisco, Peru. Over the years, people have searched for the treasure without success, though an Australian visitor to the atoll discovered a cache of medallions, the contents of which indicated they came from South America.
Tepoto Sud was sighted by French explorerLouis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1768, but the first European to land was Russian explorerFabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen in 1820.
Tepoto Sud belongs to thecommune of Makemo, which consists of the atolls of Makemo,Haraiki,Marutea Nord,Katiu,Tuanake,Hiti,Tepoto Sud,Raroia,Takume,Taenga andNihiru.
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