Faaite
- ISS004-E-5759
- 10 January 2002
- 23:20 UTC
Faaite is a medium sized atoll of the Centre West group located in the northwest of the archipelago, situated between the two larger atolls of Fakarava (17 km to the northwest) and Tahanea (11 km to the southeast). Its deep central lagoon of 230 km² is studded with a profusion of coral heads and is almost completely surrounded by a continuous reef rim that is broken only at one location on the western side.
The southern side of the atoll is formed by a comparatively broad and mostly submerged reef and and its associated reef flats. The more sheltered northern side has been colonised by an extensive series of elongated and vegetated motu with a combined land area of around 9 km².
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
