Haraiki, Atoll in Makemo, French Polynesia.
Haraiki is an atoll in the Makemo region consisting of three small islets surrounded by vegetation. The islands enclose a shallow lagoon with a passage on the southern side where boats can enter.
Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea sighted Haraiki on 31 October 1774 aboard the Aguila and named it San Quintín, after Saint Quintinus, whose feast day falls on that date; he did not land. In 1821 Captain Francis Stavers of the whaler Tuscan called it Birnie Island, and Frederick William Beechey passed in February 1826 and named it Croker Island.
The atoll belongs to the Makemo commune administration, forming part of the larger Tuamotu archipelago within French Polynesian territory.
This remote atoll is accessible only by boat, and visitors should expect marine travel and lagoon conditions. The southern passage is the main route for reaching and exploring the islands.
Haraiki sits on a small undersea plateau, part of the Tuamotu Seamount Trail, that rises 2760 m from the deep ocean floor. The atoll's four motu were cleared from the late 19th century for coconut plantations, which are still worked by residents of neighbouring islands.
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