Ahe

For other uses, see Ahe (disambiguation).

Ahe

Location of Ahe Atoll in the Pacific Ocean

Location of Ahe Atoll

Ahe, Ahemaru or Omaru, is an almost entirely-enclosed coral atoll, located in the northern Tuamotu Archipelago, just 14 km to the west of Manihi, in French Polynesia.

Ahe Atoll's ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon. Length 23.5 km, width 12.2 km. Latitude 14° 30'; Longitude S 146° 20' W.

Ahe Atoll has 441 inhabitants. The only village in Ahe is Tenukupara with approximately 100 inhabitants. It is located on an island in the south side of the Atoll.

Geographically Ahe Atoll is part of the King George Islands (Iles du Roi Georges) subgroup, which includes Ahe, Manihi, Takapoto, Takaroa and Tikei.

There are several pearl farms in Ahe's lagoon.

Historical data

The first recorded Europeans to arrive to Ahe Atoll were Dutch mariners Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire in 1616.

Ahe was later visited by the historic United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. Charles Wilkes called the atoll "Peacock Island" after one of the ships of the expedition. This atoll has sometimes suffered damages caused by cyclones.

Ahe has a territorial (domestic) airport which was inaugurated in 1997.

Administration

Ahe Atoll belongs to the commune of Manihi, which consists of the atolls of Manihi and Ahe.

Images & Maps

Image Source: Landsat S-06-10_2000 (1:100,000)   Map Source: EVS Precision Map (1:100,000)   Image Source: ISS008-E-17141   Image source: ISS007-E-16671

See also

• Ahe Airport

External links

• Ahe Atoll FP (EVS Islands)
• Shuttle Image ISS008-E-17141 (Astronaut Photography)
• Shuttle Image ISS007-E-16671 (Astronaut Photography)
• Ahe Atoll FP (Oceandots.com)
• Tuamotu Atolls List (Pacific Image)