Atuona | |
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Coordinates: 9°48′11″S139°2′23″W / 9.80306°S 139.03972°W | |
Country | France |
Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
Subdivision | Marquesas Islands |
Commune | Hiva Oa |
Population (2022) [1] | 1,993 |
Time zone | UTC−9:30 |
Atuona, located on Atuona Bay on the southern side of Hiva Oa island, French Polynesia, is the administrative centre of the commune (municipality) of Hiva-Oa. Atuona was the capital of all the Marquesas Islands but it has been replaced by Taioha'e (on Nuku Hiva).
The peak Temetiu, rising to 1,213 m (3,980 ft) above sea level, towers above the town.
Atuona was the final home of Paul Gauguin, who died there in 1903 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, which overlooks the town. The Belgian singer Jacques Brel is also buried there. In 2003, construction on the Paul Gauguin Cultural Center was completed in Atuona.
Climate data for Atuona (1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.6 (87.1) | 30.9 (87.6) | 30.9 (87.6) | 30.6 (87.1) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.0 (84.2) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.5 (83.3) | 29.1 (84.4) | 29.9 (85.8) | 30.6 (87.1) | 30.8 (87.4) | 30.0 (85.9) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.8 (73.0) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.7 (72.9) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.1 (71.8) | 22.1 (71.8) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 22.7 (72.9) | 22.7 (72.9) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 128.7 (5.07) | 122.2 (4.81) | 147.0 (5.79) | 131.4 (5.17) | 144.1 (5.67) | 178.4 (7.02) | 136.7 (5.38) | 112.6 (4.43) | 68.0 (2.68) | 85.5 (3.37) | 69.9 (2.75) | 97.3 (3.83) | 1,421.8 (55.97) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 249.7 | 223.6 | 226.2 | 218.8 | 219.2 | 193.4 | 202.0 | 217.6 | 223.6 | 241.4 | 245.2 | 244.1 | 2,704.8 |
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [2] |
French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in the South Pacific Ocean. The total land area of French Polynesia is 3,521 square kilometres (1,359 sq mi), with a population of 278,786 of which at least 205,000 live in the Society Islands and the remaining population lives in the rest of the archipelago.
The Marquesas Islands are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mount Oave on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level.
Fatu-Hiva is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbour, it is also the most isolated of the inhabited islands.
With its 320 square kilometres, Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Located at 9 45' south latitude and 139 W longitude, it is the largest island of the southern Marquesas group. Around 2,200 people reside on the island. A volcano, Temetiu, is Hiva Oa's highest point with 1,200 metres.
Taioha'e is the main town on Nuku Hiva island. The town is located on a former volcanic crater, which has partly collapsed into the ocean, creating a bay.
Mohotani is an uninhabited island southeast of Hiva Oa and east of Tahuata in the southern Marquesas Islands. It has an area of 15 km2. Much of the island's sparse vegetation has been destroyed by feral goats and sheep, to the extent that following its rare rains, the sea around it is stained red from runoff. Early reports describes the island as fertile, with forest and fields. When Thor Heyerdahl visited the island in 1938, there were only a few goats and remains of deserted huts and villages.
Ua Pou is the third largest of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.
The Paul Gauguin Cultural Center was finished in 2003, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the death of Paul Gauguin, in Atuona, on Hiva ʻOa, in the Marquesas Islands.
Taʻa ʻOa is the South Marquesan name of a wide bay on the southern coast of Hiva ʻOa in French Polynesia. The bay is widely known in English as the Bay of Traitors, and in French as Baie des Traitres.
Calvary Cemetery is the main cemetery in Atuona, Hiva ‘Oa, French Polynesia. It is located on a hillside on the eastern edge of town, overlooking the anchorage on Atuona Bay.
Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is located 4 km (2.5 mi.) to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordelais, called Ha‘ava in Marquesan.
Ua Huka is one of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is situated in the northern group of the archipelago, approximately 25 mi (40 km) to the east of Nuku Hiva, at 8°54′S139°33′W.
Punaʻauia is a commune in the suburbs of Papeʻete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Punaʻauia is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. In the late 1890s, the French painter Paul Gauguin lived in Punaʻauia. Here he painted his masterpiece Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?. The commune borders Faʻaʻā on the north and Pāʻea on the south.
Atuona Airport or Hiva Oa Airport is an airport located 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) northeast of Atuona, on the island of Hiva Oa, in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.
Nuku-Hiva is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune is in the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas Islands. Its population was 3,025 at the 2022 census.
Hiva-Oa is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune is in the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas Islands. Its population was 2,371 at the 2022 census.
This page list topics related to French Polynesia.
The 1st constituency of French Polynesia is a French legislative constituency in French Polynesia.
Taipivai is a town on Nuku Hiva island.
Puama'u is an associated commune of Hiva-Oa, in French Polynesia. According to the 2022 census, it had a population of 378 people.