Taiaro
- ISS004-E-6697
- 22 January 2002
- 18:42 UTC
Taiaro, a small circular-shaped atoll of the Centre West Group, is located 42 km to the northeast of Raraka. The atoll consists, in the main, of a single island — almost completely wrapping around the central lagoon — that is 12 km in length and up to 700 m across. A few minor islets are found on the southern and eastern sides.
The sandy-bottomed lagoon is quite deep (averaging 15-20 m in depth), measuring 5 km across and with a surface area of nearly 12 km². The lagoon has no channel linking it with the open sea and as a result of evaporation its waters are hypersaline.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center