Nanumea
- ISS004-E-413351
- 19 April 2002
- time unknkown
Nanumea, the northermost component of Tuvalu, lies 475 km northwest from the atoll of Funafuti. Although small by Pacific standards, Nanumea with a land area of 3.61 km², is the largest atoll of Tuvalu (in terms of land area), although it could fit comfortably within the lagoon of the much larger atoll of Funafuti. The atoll consists of a boomerang-shaped reef of around 10 km in length and up to 3 km across that contains two main islands — Nanumea, the largest, in the southeast and Laena in the northwest. A few smaller islets are found towards the central regions.
The atoll's broad reef flats enclose a central lagoon that is divided in to two deep basins.
