Puka-Puka

About

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. 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.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.