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Moruroa
EntityQ318446· pop 43· linked from 297 articles

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.

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

Wikidata facts

Population
0
Area
15
Image
Moruroa atoll.JPG
Width
11
Length
28
Show 3 more facts
time of discovery or invention
1767-00-00
Commons category
Mururoa
native label
Moruroa
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~7 min read

Article

8 sections
Contents
  • 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.

Gallery (8)

On the map

3 mapped locations

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