Fakarava Island

Fakarava is an atoll in the west of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is the second largest of the Tuamotu atolls. The shape of Fakarava Atoll is roughly rectangular and its length is 37 miles and its width 13 miles. Fakarava has a wide and deep lagoon with a surface of 429 square miles and two passes. The main pass to enter the lagoon, located in its north-western end, is known as Passe Garuae and it is the largest pass in French Polynesia; the southern pass is called Tumakohua (also known as Tetamanu). It has a land area of 6 square miles.