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Ahe
	NASA picture of Ahe Atoll
	Ahe
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	14°29′S 146°19′W / 14.483°S 146.317°W
Archipelago	Tuamotus
Area	138 km2 (53 sq mi)(lagoon); 12 km2 (5 sq mi) (above water)
Length	23.5 km (14.6 mi)
Width	12.2 km (7.58 mi)
Highest elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Highest point	(unnamed)
Administration
	France
Overseas collectivity	French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision	Tuamotus
Commune	Manihi
Largest settlement	Tenukupara (pop. 100)
Demographics
Population	552 (2012)
Pop. density	47/km2 (122/sq mi)

Ahe, Ahemaru or Omaru,^[2] is a coral atoll in the northern Tuamotu Archipelago, 14 km to the west of Manihi, in French Polynesia. Its ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon. It has a land area of approximately 12 km² and a lagoon area of 138 km². As of 2012^[update], Ahe Atoll had 553 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.^[3]

The 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.

History

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 United States Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842.^[4] Charles Wilkes called the atoll "Peacock Island" after one of the ships of the expedition.^[5] This atoll has sometimes suffered damage caused by cyclones.^[6]

In the late 1970s, sailor Bernard Moitessier lived on Ahe for two years.^[7]

Demographics

Population of Ahe:

1977	1983	1988	1996	2002	2007	2012
109	142	162	377	441	566	552
Sources ISPF,^[8] Mairie de Ahe^[9] * : estimation

Administration

Ahe Atoll belongs to the commune of Manihi, which consists of the atolls of Manihi and Ahe.^[10]

References

^ "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
^ Young, J.L. (1899). "Names of the Paumotu Islands, with the old names so far as they are known". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 8 (4): 264–268. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
^ "Oceandots - Ahe, Tuamotu Archipelago". Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
^ United States Exploring Expedition
^ "[American Voyages, 1800 to 1842]". nzetc.org.
^ Dupon, Jean-Francois (1984). "Where the exception confirms the rule: The cyclones of 1982–1983 in French Polynesia". Disasters. 8 (1): 34–47. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7717.1984.tb00851.x. PMID 20958557.
^ Bernard Moitessier, Tamata and the Alliance (Sheridan Publishing, 1995)
^ ISPF, Démographie Archived 2014-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
^ Mairie de Ahe,
^ Tahiti Tourisme Archived October 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (in French)