Moruroa
Sign in to saveMoruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll is part of the commune of Tureia, which includes the atolls of Tureia, Fangataufa, Tematangi and Vanavana. France undertook nuclear weapon tests between 1966 and 1996 at Moruroa and Fangataufa, causing international protests, notably in 1974 and 1995. The number of tests performed on Moruroa has been variously reported as 175 and 181.
Key facts
- Islands.name
- Moruroa
- Islands.image_name
- Moruroa atoll.JPG
- Islands.image_caption
- NASA picture of Moruroa Atoll
- Islands.map
- French Polynesia
- Islands.location
- Pacific Ocean
- Islands.archipelago
- Tuamotus
- Islands.area_km2
- 148
- Islands.area_footnotes
- (lagoon) (above water)
- Islands.length_km
- 28
- Islands.width_km
- 11
- Islands.country
- France
- Islands.country_admin_divisions_title
- Overseas collectivity
- Islands.country_admin_divisions
- French Polynesia
- Islands.country_admin_divisions_title_2
- Commune
- Islands.country_admin_divisions_2
- Tureia
- Islands.country_admin_divisions_title_1
- Administrative subdivision
- Islands.country_admin_divisions_1
- Tuamotus
- Islands.population
- Uninhabited
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
8 sectionsContents
- History
- French nuclear weapons testing
- Aftermath
- Monitoring
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll is part of the commune of Tureia, which includes the atolls of Tureia, Fangataufa, Tematangi and Vanavana. France undertook nuclear weapon tests between 1966 and 1996 at Moruroa and Fangataufa, causing international protests, notably in 1974 and 1995. The number of tests performed on Moruroa has been variously reported as 175 and 181.
==History== thumb|left|Moruroa The first recorded visit this atoll was Commander Philip Carteret on HMS Swallow in 1767, just a few days after he had discovered Pitcairn Island. Carteret named Mururoa "Bishop of Osnaburgh Island". In 1792, the British whaler was wrecked here, and it became known as Matilda's Rocks. Frederick William Beechey visited it in 1826.