Marutea Nord
- ISS006-E-37438
- 11 March 2003
- 21:17 UTC
Marutea Nord is a large atoll of the central Tuamotu Archipelago, situated 24 km southeast from Makemo and 30 km southwest from Nihiru. The atoll measures 44 km in length (from northwest to southeast) with a maximum width of 19 km across the centre.
Marutea Nord contains very little emergent land for its size; the western rim of the atoll consists largely of a broad reef that is for the most part submerged or awash, while the northern and eastern rim contains many small vegetated islets with a combined area in the region of 2.7 km². Its islets become progressively less vegetated as one moves clockwise around the rim. The central lagoon has an area of 458 km² and contains many small coral heads and patch reefs, particularly on the western side.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
