GeoPearls - Projects

Tatakoto (17˚20'S., 138˚25'W.) is a low atoll about 90 miles NW of Pukaruha that is wooded on the NW part. The lagoon is inaccessible from the sea, but a landing may be made near a flagstaff in a village on the atoll's W side.  (SD Pub-126)

TATAKOTO
THE TUAMOTU ARCHIPELAGO

Other names given by European discoverers: Augier, Narcisse

Tatakoto is located 1,182 kilometers (724 miles) from the island of Tahiti and some 180 kilometers (119 miles) from the nearest inhabited atolls of Vahitahi and Puka Puka; Tatakoto is undoubtedly one of the most remote atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago as well as all of French Polynesia.

Geography

This bean-shaped atoll is 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) long and 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) wide. It is located at 17°20’ south latitude and 138°24’ west longitude.
Tatakoto covers an area of 730 hectares (1,804 acres) divided up into 65 islets, or motu. Its lagoon, which covers an area of 1,970 hectares (4,868 acres), is 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) long and 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) wide. The biggest motu is 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) long and 400 meters (1,312 ft.) wide, covering the entire north coast of the atoll in an east-west direction. The southern side of the atoll is exposed to prevailing winds and is composed of a series of motu separated by small passes. The biggest motu has an unpaved runway that is practical for flying out copra. The village of Tumukuru is concentrated on both sides of the main road and along the coconut plantation road, an overall area measuring 600 meters (1,969 ft.) long by 200 meters (656 ft.) wide. Six main streets crisscross the village of Tumukuru, which is located on the western point of the atoll. Tatakoto has an aerodrome located near the village, but the atoll does not have a pass through the coral reef enclosing the lagoon. The village has a whaleboat dock and a 25-meter (82-ft.) pier. A second whaleboat dock is located in the southern part of the atoll.

History

Two Spanish explorers—Domingo de Boenechea and Andiay Varela—sighted Tatakoto independently of each other on the same day in 1774, becoming the atoll’s first European discoverers. From 1900 to 1927 Frenchman Albert Javelot served as the atoll’s chief, planting the atoll with coconut trees that still cover the atoll today. The 1996 census recorded a population of 247 persons.

(From Presidency of French Polynesia Web Site)

Atolls are both satisfying and frustrating to map.  They take hours to complete.  This atoll consists of 13 identified layers and another 4 additional layers.  Each layer of information requires consistent identification and delineation.  Each atoll's EVS Reef Middle, for example, should be consistently identified from the Landsat mosaics used as base imagery no matter the island.  The steps to create a map such as this are both tedious and demanding.  Now for the good stuff - the finished map looks great!  It not only looks great, it is a solid cartographic effort.  Even before I began this project, I knew that ultimately the finished product would look great.  The base imagery is clean and provides a crisp picture of the atoll.  The challenge was to keep working.  And that is just what I did.

Enjoy! 

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Ahunui Atoll - Landsat Image S-07-15_2000 (1:50,000)

Ahunui Atoll - Marplot Map (1:50,000)

Ahunui Atoll (Ahounoui, Byam Martin, Cockburn)is an uninhabited wooded atoll. The lagoon is in-accessible, but there is a landing place on the NW end of the atoll near some huts and a tank. (SD Pub-126)

Ahunui Atoll - ISS Image ISS006-E-37449

This atoll does not have much information posted on the Internet. The Sailing Directions give very little information. The Shuttle Image shows a vegetation area on the western motu that the Landsat image does not show. The Landsat image appears to be washed out (if that can be possible with satellite imagery).

I spent about four hours digitizing the shoreline of this atoll. It was a fairly simple process.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Nukutavake Island - Landsat Image S-07-15_2000

Nukutavake Island - Marplot Map

Nukutavake Island (Noukoutawake) is a small island, of coral formation, located about 8 miles NW of Pinaki. It is about 3 miles long in an E-W direction, and is wooded except at its E end. There is a radio station on the island.

In May, June, and July the population of this atoll moves to Vairaatea, and in August, to Pinaki to harvest copra. (SD Pub-126)

Group: Centre East Group
Archipelago: Tuamotu Archipelago
Country: France - French Polynesia - Tuamotu Is.
Region: Oceania 18
Lat: 19.28º S Long : 138.78º W
Area: 4.5 sq. km
Altitude: ? m
Depth to nearest land: 3000 m
Nearest island: 14.5 km @ 143° (Atoll Pinaki)
Group: 980 km
Nearest continent: South America
Distance: 5400 km Isolation Index: 108

ISLAND TYPE: low coral Natural Protection Indicator: 2
CLIMATE: tropical
CATASTROPHIC THREATS: cyclones Threat Indicator: 1
ECOSYSTEMS: Coconuts; fringing reef Number of Ecosystems - Terrestrial: 1 Marine: 1
Percent shoreline: Coral Reef: 99% Mangrove: 0%

HUMAN OCCUPATION: Uninhabited, ?
Population: 0 Density: 0.0 persons/sq. km
Major Human Activities: coconut plantations
Percent population in agr/mining/fishing: 17% Human Threat Indicator: 1
Gross Domestic Product: $ 7236 per capita Economic Pressure Indicator: 4

DATA RELIABILITY: Data Rel. Indicator: 1

HUMAN IMPACT INDEX HI: 5
CONSERVATION IMPORTANCE INDEX CI-Terrestrial: 5 Low
CI-Marine: 4 Low

Last updated: 27/02/89

Nukutavake (aka Queen Charlotte Island) is an atoll located in the eastern part of the Tuamotu Archipelago at 138°48’ west longitude by 19°17’ south latitude. It is 1,125 kilometers (699 miles) from Papeete. British Captain Samuel Wallis was the first European to discover this atoll in 1767. This is a unique atoll because although it is flat and of coral formation, it has no lagoon. While some accounts claim there are no signs of there ever having been a lagoon, other accounts claim that what was once a lagoon has been entirely filled in by sand and limestone particles from the external coral reef. Part of the atoll is covered by dense vegetation, while the rest has a coconut tree plantation covering some 800 hectares (1,977 acres). Nukutavake is 5.2 kilometers (3.2 miles) long. Its width ranges from 450 meters (1,476 ft.) to 1.3 kilometers (0.81 miles) in the director of the village. The atoll covers an area of 360 hectares (890 acres).

The village, located in the northeastern part of the atoll, has some streets and a main road from the coast and the coconut plantation. There is an aerodrome 800 meters (2,625 ft.) south of the village, linking the atoll to the outside world. There is a whaleboat dock opposite the village that allows for transferring people and cargo from and to cargo ships that anchor offshore. The 1996 census recorded a population of 196 persons. The atoll is the administrative center for a district made up of the associated districts of Vahitahi and Vairaatea.

This island was mapped quickly. Not carelessly, but quickly. It took about 1-hour to digitize and create the map. Another 30-minutes to post and comment.

Also, the discovery of the additional island information from the web site of the President of French Polynesia (what a job!) will enhance the information associated with this island. I did send him an email to present my website. However, no reply as yet.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Pukaruha Atoll is off the beaten path. It lies to at the eastern limits of the Tuamotus. The main motu has a village located at the northern end. Half-way down the main motu is an airstrip.

Now for the real scoop. This is my best map artistically and my most detailed. It has close to 1,000 polygons that makeup the various layers of infornmation. I used Google Earth imagery to construct this map. The imagery is 1-meter resolution and I mapped the hell out of it! The project took about 20 hours.

Frequent visitors know that I primarily work off of Landsat ETM+ 2000 mosaic imagery. This island and it's neighbor are not covered in the available Landsat imagery. I am sure that it was a fluke that this mosaic was not made available to the public. However, I wanted to map it. So I checked out the imagery on GE and found the included base imagery. The lagoon reef is a work of art and it is accurate.

For those of you that just like to see my latest project, this is it. For those of you that appreciate a gorgeous map, this is it as well.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Akiaki Atoll - Landsat Image S-07-15_2000 (1:10,000)

Akiaki Atoll - Marplot Map (1:10,000)

Akiaki (Aki Aki, Thrum Cap) [1790] (18˚33'S., 139˚13'W.), NW of Vahitahi, is a small island of coral formation. There is a landing on the NW side that is difficult. (SD Pub-126)

Group: Centre East Group
Archipelago: Tuamotu Archipelago
Country: France - French Polynesia - Tuamotu Is.
Region: Oceania 18
Lat: 18.56º S Long : 139.21º W
Area: 1.3 sq. km Altitude: ? m
Depth to nearest land: 3000 m
Nearest island: 43.4 km @ 123° (Atoll Vahitahi)
Group: 940 km
Nearest continent: South America
Distance: 5500 km Isolation Index: 112

ISLAND TYPE: low coral Natural Protection Indicator: 2
CLIMATE: tropical
CATASTROPHIC THREATS: cyclones Threat Indicator: 1
ECOSYSTEMS: Coconuts, fringing reef Number of Ecosystems - Terrestrial: 1 Marine: 1
Percent shoreline: Coral Reef: 99% Mangrove: 0%

HUMAN OCCUPATION: Uninhabited, visited occasionally
Population: 0
Density: 0.0 persons/sq. km
Major Human Activities: coconut plantations
Percent population in agr/mining/fishing: 17% Human Threat Indicator: 1
Gross Domestic Product: $ 7236 per capita Economic Pressure Indicator: 4

DATA RELIABILITY: Data Rel. Indicator: 1

HUMAN IMPACT INDEX HI: 5
CONSERVATION IMPORTANCE INDEX CI-Terrestrial: 5 Low
CI-Marine: 4 Low

Last updated: 27/02/89

This small island claims to be an atoll. It is reported to be visited occassionally to work the coconut trees that are planted on it. I believe that the populated island is Vahitahi and these are the people that visit Akiaki. There is still hope for the nomadic lifestyle.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Tureia Atoll - Landsat Image S-07-20_2000 (1:75,000)

Tureia Atoll - Marplot Map (1:75,000)

Tureia Atoll (20˚49'S., 138˚32'W.) 7 miles long and 5.5 mile wide, is low and wooded except on the SE side; the lagoon is not accessible. Landing at the village on the N side is dangerous and requires the use of a surf boat. (SD Pub-126)

This small atoll in the southern Tuamotu Archipelago is located at 20°50’ south latitude by 138°33’ west longitude. It covers an area of 8.3 square kilometers (3.2 sq. miles). Tureia Atoll is 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) from the atoll of Moruroa and 1,190 kilometers (739 miles) from Papeete. This diamond-shaped atoll is a maximum length of 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) and a maximum width of 7.4 kilometers (4.6 miles). It covers an area of 4,721 hectares (11,665 acres). There is no pass through the surrounding coral reef. The biggest islet, or motu, is located along the northwest coast and measures 22.5 kilometers (14 miles) long by and 250 meters (820 ft.) wide, running from the east coast to the south coast. There also are 27 small motu along the east coast with a total land area of 835 hectares (2,063 acres).

British Captain Edward Edwards, who was looking for the famous “HMS Bounty” mutineers, was the first European to discover Tureia in 1791. This atoll is the administrative center for a district with a population of 1,321 persons (1996 census). A full meteorological station began operation here since 1967, going automatic within the weather station network in June 1987. The station began measuring rainfall in January 1990, an operation that ended in March 1996 with its closing down.

A road from the village of Hakamaru to the north circles the atoll as far as the south. Other roads provide access to the coconut tree plantation, an aerodrome south of the village and a former Pacific Nuclear Testing Center camp made up of 20 facilities, including shelters and several water tanks, all of which have since been abandoned by the French Army.

Information from Presidency of French Polynesia

This is a redo of a very early effort. My first attempt was completed over 2 years ago. I deleted it as I was developing this version. Using Landsat imagery is great for constructing shoreline details resolved to a certain level (+/- 14.5 meters). However, the determination of type of vetation groundcover is tricky at best. One really needs to personally view the island's flora to make an accurate determination. What a job!

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Vairaatea Atoll - Landsat Image S-07-15_2000

Vairaatea Atoll - Marplot Map

Vairaatea Atoll (19˚21'S., 139˚13'W.) is comprised of islands joined by a barrier reef surrounding a lagoon. The surf is heavy and landing is difficult; the usual place is near a shed with a flagstaff situated on the NW end of the atoll. There is a village on the atoll's NW.
Vahitahi is an atoll located about 29 miles N of Nukutavake. The lagoon is not accessible from the sea. The shores of Vahitahi are steep-to except the S part, which should not be approached within 0.3 mile. A village lies on the atoll's W end. (SD Pub-126)

I did come across an accout by Moshe Rappaport's visit to Vairaatea Atoll in 1989. At the time of his visit there were a total of eight families living on the island. He spoke of docking at a pier. On the main island (NW tip) is the village. Their looks to be a small harbor and a feature that I called a EVS Reef. Yet it could be a pier. Although there is no reported entrance into the lagoon for larger vessels. One can come ashore in a motor boat or a Zodiac.

Vairaatea - Outline BW

I am throwing in an outline map of the island. Any of my digitized layers can be turned off. This keeps the EVS Shoreline and converts the EVS Reefs into blue lines. This is a nice map to work with to plot observations.

I have been working on this project for the past 4-hours. It is late and I am tired. Good nite!

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Pinaki Atoll - Landsat Image S-07-15_2000 (1-15,625)

Pinaki Atoll - Shuttle Image ISS-004-E-12986 (1-15,625)

Pinaki Atoll - Marplot Map (1-15,625)

Pinaki Atoll, according to various sources, is uninhabited. It is visited on occassions by villagers from Nukutavake Island 14-kms to the NW.

My original post containing the Landsat image, which I had used as base imagery, and my Marplot map. At the time, the map was solid at depicting features that were derived from the Landsat image.

Since those early efforts I have discovered other sources of base imagery. Most often, I will use Google Earth imagery. It is typically 1-meter imagery. I will also use Shuttle imagery. Although, it is typically very high quality. However, you have to align and occassionally stretch and skew the imagery.

I used a Shuttle image for my base imagery. I was able to georectify it using four ground control points. The map I was able to produce corrects many Landsat imprecisions.

I typically keep my single island posts simple - orientation map, image and map. This time I am going to include a Flickr slideshow. The Smithsonian has a large collection of archived photos and reports. One of these series of photos are of Pinaki Atoll. They were taken by Charles Townsend Haskins in 1900.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, Digital Globe, EVS, Global Mapper, Google Earth, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Smithsonian, Tuamotus

Tehuata Atoll - Landsat Image S-07-15_2000 (1:15,625)

Tehuata Atoll - Marplot Map (1:15,625)

Tehuata Atoll aka Rekareka Atoll is small in comparison to it's neighbors. According to the UN Island Directory entry for Rekareka Atoll the island is uninhabited. Most probably the island is visited to harvest copra. The digitizing was fast and uncomplicated. GE has a 1-meter resolution image available for this island. I might use it later. I did a quick comparison and find that what I mapped is good.

Tehuata Atoll - Google Earth Image (1-15,125)

Tehuata Atoll - Marplot Map (1-15,125)

Okay, I am a perfectionist. I couldn't leave the map alone. Using the Google Earth 1-meter resolution imagery as base, I checked out my original vectors. A few minor adjustments. The primary change was a layer classification. I renamed EVS Land Gravel Sand, which I used once on Caldey Island UK, to EVS Land Distressed Sand. I believe that the grey sandy portion of the island is salt-water saturated. I like distressed sand instead of water saturated sand. Lots of things can distress sand besides water. And since it is my map, that is what I will continue to call it.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, Digital Globe, EVS, Global Mapper, Google Earth, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Reitoru Atoll (17˚50'S., 143˚06'W.), a low atoll, has no en-trance into the lagoon.

(SD Pub-126)

More information about Reitoru Atoll can be found at an interesting link that gives some facts about the very small population that makes a living from pearling.

This is the finished map with vectors taken from the Google Earth 1-meter resolution image. The map took about four hours to complete. It is a very solid effort.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, Digital Globe, EVS, France, Global Mapper, Google Earth, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

First some facts about this small atoll. According to a 1994 Franco-Australian Expedition the lagoon contained within is hypersaline (real salty). Yet, it contains "a high diversity of fish". The theory is that high waves push ocean water into the lagoon bringing in zooplankton and other oceanic fish. In another article from this same expedition the zooplankton within the lagoon was found to be different from the zooplankton found in the ocean off-shore. This would seem to confirm that the lagoon is almost completely isolated from the ocean.

Due to it's uniqueness, Taiaro Atoll is part of the Tuamotu Biosphere Reserve. It, along with five other atolls within the Fakarava Municipality makeup this protected area. The above referenced link also contains a few photos from the atoll.

Finally, there is a copy of a report issued by the 1994 Franco-Australian Expedition that gives the curious reader detailed information about the closed life cycle for some coral fish within the Taiaro Lagoon.

This project took about six hours to complete. I elected to digitize using Google Earth/Digital Globe imagery at 1:1-meter. The resulting map is highly detailed and attempts to make accurate on-land layer determinations. The southern end of the atoll was the most challenging. The reef in this area is complex and difficult to determine whether features are above or below water. This is where "local knowledge" would serve to make the best final layer determinations. Perhaps one day I will make that trip to my mapped islands to provide that "local knowledge" my projects require. Until then, this will have to do.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, Digital Globe, EVS, France, Global Mapper, Google Earth, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Tikei Island - Landsat Image S-06-10_2000 (1-25,000)

Tikei Island - Marplot Map (1-25,000)

Tikei Island (14˚58'S., 144˚33'W.) is a small island about 60 miles NE of Aratika. The only landing place is at a small village on the W extremity of the island, and it is difficult. (SD Pub-126)

Tikei Island is a poorly researched island. It is not a typical Tuamotu atoll, but an island. It is a low island that most likely was an atoll many millions of years ago. The lagoon is gone and the island is covered with heavy vegetation.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, France, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Vahitahi Atoll - Landsat Image S-07-15_2000

Vahitahi Atoll - Marplot Map

Vahitahi Atoll (138 50'W 18 35'S) is an atoll located about 29 miles N of Nukutavake. The lagoon is not accessible from the sea. The shores of Vahitahi are steep-to except the S part, which should not be approached within 0.3 mile. A village lies on the atoll's W end. (SD Pub-126)

Vahitahi Atoll is located in the eastern part of the Tuamotu Archipelago, about 50 kilometres to the north of Nukutavake, and historically the most densely settled atoll in the eastern part of the archipelago.

250 hectares in area, Vahitahi is just under 5 kilometres from west and east, and 1½ kilometres from north to south. Apart from its southern side, where there is a low reef, the atoll has little vegetation.

It has a shallow lagoon with coral above sea level in many places and no entrance to the sea. It was this feature of the atoll that led to Cook naming it 'Lagoon Island'.

The first Europeans to see the atoll were the voyagers commanded by Louise-Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811) in March 1768.

Today the atoll has around 70 inhabitants and is part of the Commune of Nukutavake in the Tuamou-Gambier administrative subdivision of French Polynesia.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-biogs-P000330

Vahitahi Atoll - Marplot Map Outline

And finally, here is an outline map of the island. It also shows the various reefs. My favorite is the outline map. I suspect that the reader would prefer the color map or the image. The outline is the ultimate map. As an end user, I can take it and add my own unique information. In my opinion, it offers the greatest flexibility.

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus

Tepoto Island - Landsat Image S-07-10_2000

Tepoto Island - ISS Image ISS002-E-8862

Tepoto Island - Marplot Map

Tepoto Island (14˚03'S., 141˚25'W.) about 10 miles NW of Napuka, is about 18.3m high to the top of the trees; it is the NW island of the Iles du Desappointement. Landing is practicable, with assistance of the natives, on the W side of the island. (SD Pub-126)

From Wikipedia: Tepoto, a coral island, is the northwesternmost of the Disappointment Islands, in the Tuamotu Archipelago, located at 14° 8' S lat and 141° 24' W long. The island is sometimes called Tepoto Nord in French, to avoid confusion with the Tepoto atolls 400 km (240 mi.) to the southwest in the Raeffsky Islands of central Tuamotu. According to the 2002 census, its population was 54 inhabitants. The primary village is Tehekega.

From IRD: Northern Tepoto which is one of the North-Eastern Tuamotu islands, is situated 16°48' south and 144°19' west, 16 km to the north-west of Napuka. This is one of the high atolls, or "makateas", with a dry lagoon: the solid ground thus forms an island 2.6 km long and 800 m wide. Tepoto. is surrounded by a barrier reef. There is a road 5m wide running round the whole atoll. The village of Tehekega in the nord-west of the atoll can be reached by taking one of the whale-boats which call in at a jetty 28 m long and 4.5 m wide. This atoll has an area of 400 hectares.

Northern Tepoto, which was discovered by John Byron in 1765, has had very few contacts with the Western world. In 1988, the population of the island consisted of only 62 inhabitants (there were 67 in 1983).

Northern Tepoto belongs to the commune of Napuka

From UNEP: Tepoto Nord [1761]
Group: Centre West Group
Archipelago: Tuamotu Archipelago
Country: France - French Polynesia - Tuamotu Is.
Region: Oceania 18
Lat: 14.º S Long : 141.33º W
Area: 2.05 sq. km
Altitude: 18.3 m (to tree tops)
Depth to nearest land: 3000 m
Nearest island: 16.5 km (110º) Napuka
Group: 420 km
Nearest continent: South America
Distance: 6100 km Isolation Index: 102

ISLAND TYPE: atoll Natural Protection Indicator: 2
CLIMATE: wet tropical
CATASTROPHIC THREATS: cyclones Threat Indicator: 1
ECOSYSTEMS: Windward and leeward atoll reefs, open lagoon Number of Ecosystems - Terrestrial: 1 Marine: 3
Percent shoreline: Coral Reef: 99% Mangrove: 0%

HUMAN OCCUPATION: Inhabited
Population: 54 (2002 Census)
Density: 26.3 persons/sq. km
Percent population in agr/mining/fishing: 17% Human Threat Indicator: 1
Gross Domestic Product: $ 7236 per capita Economic Pressure Indicator: 4

DATA RELIABILITY: Data Rel. Indicator: 1
HUMAN IMPACT INDEX HI: 5
CONSERVATION IMPORTANCE INDEX CI-Terrestrial: 5 Low
CI-Marine: 5 Moderate

Last updated: 25/02/89

Looking at the island image and the type of vegetation scattered about, it is difficult to image 54 people living on this small island. Are they primarily fishermen? Do they grow gardens? Do they go shopping at Napuka (10 miles SE)?

Enjoy!

Labels: atoll, EVS, Global Mapper, island, ISS Image, Landsat, map, Marplot, Pacific, Polynesia, Tuamotus