Tepoto, also known as Te Poto, Toho, or Pukapoto, is a coral island. It is the northwesternmost of the Disappointment Islands, in the Tuamotu Archipelago. Despite being often referred to as "atoll", Tepoto is not a typical Tuamotu atoll, but a single separate island without a lagoon. It is located at the limit of the Tuamotu archipelago; the closest land is Napuka, which lies 16 km to the southeast. Tepoto is 2.6 km long and 800 m wide; it has an area of 4 km2. This island is sometimes called Tepoto Nord in French, to avoid confusion with Tepoto Atoll (Tepoto Sud) 400 km to the southwest, in the Raeffsky Islands of central Tuamotu. An obsolete name is Otuho. According to the 2012 census, its population was 61 inhabitants. The primary village is Tehekega. There is a 5 m wide road running around the whole island. In 2018 there were about 40 residents, 13 of which were children under the age of 12.

History

The first European to see these islands was Ferdinand Magellan in his 1520 expedition to the Philippines and the Spice Islands. He called them the "Unfortunate Islands" (Ilhas Desafortunadas) because his sailors could not find a water source there from which to replenish, while en route to the Philippine Islands.

Administration

Tepoto Nord belongs to the commune of Napuka. The commune of Napuka consists of the atolls of Napuka and Tepoto Nord.

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