Reao, Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia, France

Reao is an atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia, shaped like a long, narrow ring of coral reef enclosing an inner lagoon. The land sits very low above sea level and is covered with sparse vegetation, mostly coconut palms and scrub.

French explorer Louis Isidore Duperrey sighted Reao on 30 April 1823 aboard La Coquille and named it Clermont-Tonnerre after navy minister Aimé Marie Gaspard de Clermont-Tonnerre. Charles Wilkes's United States Exploring Expedition landed on 13 August 1839. A coral-stone town hall was built in 1874 and renovated in 2010; the Saint-Augustin parish was founded in 1875.

Reao is also called Natūpe, and its people speak Reo Tuamotu alongside French. Excavated garden pits on 85,000 m², dated to 1120 ± 40 years, show taro was grown here for centuries. The coral-stone town hall, built in 1874 and renovated in 2010, stands near the Saint-Augustin parish founded in 1875.

Reao can only be reached by small plane from Papeete, and flights run infrequently, so planning ahead is important. Traveling between May and October gives better chances of stable weather and calmer sea conditions around the reef.

Reao's lagoon has no navigable pass, so its water stays enclosed while the ocean breaks along the outer rim. The lagoon holds colonies of Porites mordax and Acropora formosa corals and more than 400 Tridacna maxima clams, counted in a survey of the atoll's reef life.