Tokelau
Tokelau consists of
three isolated atolls of the South Pacific located 480 km north from the islands
of the Samoan archipelago and 440 km directly south from the
Rawaki Islands of the central Pacific. From Atafu in the north to Fakaofo
in the south, the atolls are spread over just under 200 km of ocean (see
panoramic image, orientated in a northwest to southeast running chain.
With a total land area totalling just 12 km²,
the three atolls of Tokelau form a self-administering
territory of New Zealand — upon which it is substantially dependent upon for financial assistance. The 1.5 km²
Swains Island, located 177 km southwards from Tokelau's southernmost atoll of Fakaofo is
claimed — for historical and geographical reasons — as part of Tokelau, although it is currently considered as
part of American Samoa. The three atolls claim an Economic Exclusive Zone of 320,000 km².
Nukunonu is the largest of the atolls, both in terms of land area and lagoon size (4.7 km² and 98 km², respectively), while Fakaofo is the the most populated. In all, there are 127 reef islets (motu) amongst the atolls. None of the atolls have reef-crossing passages connecting their lagoons with the open sea.
The islands have generally poor quality soils, supporting forests of mainly coconut palm, Pandanus and low shrubs.
