Tuamotus Gallery

Mataiva Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean

August 13, 2010 - Mataiva Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. The Tuamotu Archipelago is part of French Polynesia, and forms the largest chain of atolls in the world. This photograph features Mataiva Atoll, the westernmost atoll of the Tuamotu chain. An atoll is a ring-shaped island that encloses a central lagoon. This distinctive morphology is usually associated with oceanic islands formed by volcanoes; coral reefs become established around the partially submerged volcanic cone. Over geologic time the central volcano becomes extinct, followed by erosion and subsidence beneath the sea surface, leaving the coral reefs as a ring around (or cap on) the submerged island remnant.
Mataiva Atoll is notable in that its central lagoon includes a network of ridges (white, center) and small basins formed from eroded coral reefs. Mataiva means nine eyes in Tuamotuan, an allusion to nine narrow channels on the south-central portion of the island. The atoll is sparsely populated, with only a single village, Pahua, located on either side of the only pass providing constant connection between the shallow (light blue) water of the lagoon and the deeper (dark blue) adjacent Pacific Ocean

© Stocktrek Images

81389-00048-865

View of coral beach, tideline shrubs and coconut palm plantation, habitat of Tuamotu Sandpiper (Prosobonia parvirostris), Tenararo Island, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia, November

© of: FLPA/Martin Hale

Acteon Group, Animal, Animals, Archipelago, Atoll, Atolls, Beach, Beaches, Bird, Birds, Coast, Coastal, Coasts, Coconut, Coconuts, Coral, Country, Endangered, Endemic, French Polynesia, Gambier Islands, Habitat, Habitats, Island, Islands, Marine, Maritime, Nature, Ocean, Oceania, Pacific, Palm, Palms, Plantation, Plantations, Polynesia, Polynesian, Rare, Sandpiper, Sandpipers, Scenery, Scenic, Scenics, Sea, Seashore, Seashores, Shore, Shores, Shrub, Shrubs, South Pacific, Species, Tenararo, Tideline, Tidelines, Tree, Trees, Tropical, Tropics, Tuamotu, Tuamotus, View, Views, Wader, Waders, Wildlife

08279-00001-865

Murphy's Petrel (Pterodroma ultima) chick, almost fully fledged, sitting on coral rubble amongst vegetation, Morane Island, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia, November

© of: FLPA/Martin Hale

Animal, Animals, Archipelago, Atoll, Atolls, Babies, Baby, Bird, Birds, Chick, Chicks, Coast, Coastal, Coasts, Coral, Fledgling, French Polynesia, Gadfly Petrel, Gambier Islands, Ground, Island, Islands, Marine, Maritime, Morane, Murphys, Nature, Ocean, Oceania, Pacific, Pacific Ocean, Pelagic, Petrel, Petrels, Polynesia, Polynesian, Procellariidae, Rubble, Sea, Seabird, Seabirds, South Pacific, Tropical, Tropics, Tuamotu, Tuamotus, Wildlife, Young