Niutao

Niutao is a reef island in the northern part of Tuvalu. It is one of the nine districts (islands) of Tuvalu. It is also one of the three districts that consist of only one island — not counting the three islets inside the closed lagoon. Niutao has a population of 550 (2022 census).

==Geography== There are two lakes (ponds or lagoons), which are brackish to saline. The larger has three islands and a dam. There are three wells in which fresher water sits in a lens above the salt water that leaches in through the coral. Older maps show the only village as Tuapa (with the neighbourhood of Angafoulua). The main village is Kulia; another village is Teava. There is a maneapa (community hall), Uepele Primary School, a church named Tineifale of the Church of Tuvalu, a post office, and three wells. A gravel road rings the island to connect the graveyard, half mile (800 m) counter clockwise from the village, and clockwise a quarter of a mile (400 m) to the hospital. The island is somewhat a horizontal oval which has a length of about one mile (1.6 km). Vegetation is abundant but of very limited variety. Main food staples are pulaka (Cyrtosperma merkusii) or swamp taro that is grown in the pits; breadfruit, coconut and pandanus is also cultivated. A fringing reef surrounds the whole island, which makes local fishing and transport into and out of the island difficult.