Toau

Island Circular Tuamotu atoll in French Polynesia

Toau is a Tuamotu atoll with a broad inner lagoon and coral passes; visitors arrive by boat to snorkel, fish and visit small motu settlements.

Toau is a coral atoll in the Tuamotu-Gambier island group of French Polynesia, located in the central South Pacific. It is one of many low-lying atolls that make up the Tuamotus and is characterized by a ring of small islets surrounding a shallow lagoon.

The atoll features a fringing reef with a central lagoon and scattered motu (islets) around its rim. It is sparsely settled and has limited facilities; the natural environment - reef, lagoon and sandy islets - is the main draw for anyone visiting.

Toau formed through coral growth on a volcanic seamount, the same process that created other Tuamotu atolls. Like other atolls in the region, its human use has been primarily small-scale habitation, fishing and subsistence activities.

Geographically it lies in the central Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia, at the coordinates provided, surrounded by open ocean and other Tuamotu atolls. The atoll sits northeast of Tahiti within the administrative subdivision Îles Tuamotu-Gambier.