Two parallel ranges of 78 atolls, part of
French Polynesia; area 690 sq km/266 sq mi;
population (1983) 11,800, including the
Gambier Islands to the E. The atolls stretch
2,100 km/1,300 mi N and E of the Society
Islands. The administrative headquarters is
Apataki. The largest atoll is Rangiroa, the
most significant is Hao; they produce pearl
shell and copra. Mururoa and Fangataufa
atolls to the SE have been a French nuclear
test site since 1966. Spanish explorers
landed 1606, and the islands were annexed by
France 1881.