Kaukura
- ISS010-E-5445
- 29 October 2004
- 19:51 UTC
Kaukura is a medium-sized atoll of the northwestern regions of the Tuamotu Archipelago, located upon the westernmost chain of atolls. It lies to the south of both Arutua (23 km distant) and Apataki (24 km distant). The largest atoll of the entire archipelago, Rangiroa, is located 56 km to the northwest. The atoll is a meber of the Îles Palliser historical grouping (Apataki, Aratika, Arutua, Fakarava, Kaukura, Mataiva, Rangiroa, Makatea, Tikehau, and Toau).
Kaukura forms an elongate structure of 46 km in length and up to 14 km in width. The narrow reef rim, measuring some 106 km in length, encloses a coral-head studded lagoon of 436 km² in area. The very narrow Passe Moturaa (which can't be resolved in the above image) forms the main passage into the lagoon interior.
Kaukura exhibits a characteristic that is common to many of the atolls in the region: a narrow eastern rim and a broad, largely awash, western rim that is generally devoid of any significant landmasses. The largest island of the atoll, Motu Panao, is located on the northwestern rim.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
