Niau


Niau is a small atoll in French Polynesia, in the commune of Fakarava. This atoll has a broad fringing reef, a diameter of 8 km and an area of 53 km².
Niau's lagoon is swampy, hypersaline and entirely enclosed. The narrow strip of land surrounding the lagoon is covered by marsh vegetation. The enclosed lagoon area is 33 km², making the land size at 20 km².
The lagoon has an unusual green color.
The only human settlement on Niau is Tupana, population 226.

History

The first recorded European to visit Niau was a Russian Admiral Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen in 1820 on ships the Vostok and Mirni. He named this island Greig after Aleksey Greig.

Administration

Niau is administratively part of the commune of Fakarava, which consists of the island Fakarava, as well as the atolls of Aratika, Kauehi, Niau, Raraka, Taiaro and Toau.

Ecology

Niau is one of the few locations where the original Tuamotu tropical moist forest ecosystem has been preserved. This mixed broadleaf forest ecosystem has disappeared on almost all other atolls. The forest has been preserved in the central parts of the island. It contains several endemic species of plants and animals.
The small Niau kingfisher Todiramphus gertrudae lives now exclusively in the island of Niau. This critically endangered bird disappeared from the Gambier Islands long ago.

Niau airport

is at the northern tip of the atoll.