See Also: Gambier Islands(encyclopedia)
gambier(dictionary)
gambier(medicine)
Aru Islands(encyclopedia)
Bay of Islands(tourism)
Islands, Bay of(encyclopedia)
cpg islands(medicine)
Spratly Islands(encyclopedia)
New Siberian Islands(encyclopedia)
Orkney Islands(encyclopedia)

Gambier Islands (sh)




Island group (pop., 1996: 1,087), French Polynesia.

It is the southeasternmost extension of the Tuamotu Archipelago. The largest island, Mangareva, is 5 mi (8 km) long and encircled by a barrier reef 40 mi (64 km) in circumference. Mangareva rises to about 1,444 ft (440 m) in the peaks Duff and Mokoto; the chief village, Rikitea, is on Mangareva's eastern side. The Gambier Islands were annexed by the French in 1881. Their economy is based on subsistence agriculture; pearl harvesting is also of economic importance.