Tuamotu Archipelago

Also known as the Tuamotu Islands, are an archipelago of 76 atolls that is part of French Polynesia. As an indication, the Anaa Atoll is located 430 km east of Papeete, on the island of Tahiti (Society Archipelago), while from the same city it is necessary to travel 1,643 km east-southeast to reach the island of Mangareva, in Gambier Atoll and at the other end of the archipelago. This large island complex (including the Gambier) stretches 1,762 km in a west-north-west to east-southeast direction. The islands are administratively dependent on the Tuamotu-Gambier Subdivision.

Tuamotu in Tahitian means “the offshore islands”, the archipelago being east of Tahiti. The inhabitants of the Tuamotu are the Paumotu, a word that also refers to their language.