Anaa
- ISS007-E-14624
- 08 September 2003
- 20:58 UTC
Anaa is a large atoll of the Centre West Group, lying in a somewhat isolated position westwards from the main northwest-southeast running chains that make up the main body of the archipelago. Its nearest neighbour is the atoll of Faaite, located 64 km to the northeast.
Anaa is an elongated atoll, measuring 29 km in length and averaging 6.5 km in width. Its outer reef encloses a shallow lagoon of around 105 km² in area that is divided into 3 basins, with the westernmost basin being almost completely separated from the rest of the lagoon by a lagoon-crossing bar. Similar bars, although not as pronounced, form the other basins of the lagoon.
The lagoon is almost entirely surrounded by motu, with a combined land area of 38 km² — making Anaa the second largest atoll in the archipelago in terms of land area. The islands at the eastern end of the atoll are among the largest to be found on the Tuamotu atolls.
Synonyms: Anaa Island, Ara-ura, Chain Island, Chaine, Nganaa-nui, Todos Los Santos
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
