This astronaut photograph shows Mataiva Atoll, the westernmost atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago.
Published Aug 30, 2010
This astronaut photograph shows Tetiaroa Island, part of the Society Islands archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean. Tetiaroa is an atoll comprised of thirteen small islets.
Published Feb 16, 2009
This astronaut photograph depicts Apataki Atoll, an atoll in the Tuamotu Islands in the south Pacific. Atolls are ring-like coral islands that nearly or entirely enclose a lagoon. The atoll traces the perimeter of what was once the coastline of a volcanic island. In 1722, Dutch navigator Jakob Roggeveen became the first European to see the Apataki Atoll. It was later visited by Captain Cook in 1774.
Published Mar 6, 2006
The only atoll in the South Atlantic Ocean is part of Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha archipelago.
Published Feb 29, 2020
The islands and coral atolls of French Polynesia, located in the southern Pacific Ocean, epitomize the idea of tropical paradise: white sandy beaches, turquoise lagoons, and palm trees.
Published Jul 14, 2009
One of the larger islands in the remote Cook Island chain of the Central Pacific has the classic features of a coral atoll.
Published Nov 9, 2015
Located just north of the equator, this classically shaped atoll is part of the Caroline Islands, which stretch northeast of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific. Nukuoro Atoll is one of 607 islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia.
Published Jul 10, 2006
This atoll of islands and reefs formed around a submerged volcano.
Published Oct 15, 2012
