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The Tuamotu Archipelago is the Earth's largest cluster of atolls, forming a major portion of France's overseas department of French Polynesia. In total there are 74 atolls, three low coral islands, one raised coral island and one large island-barrier-reef complex. The entire archipelago has a total land area of 850 kmē. From Mataiva in the north west to Temoe in the far southeast the archipelago forms a series of loose chains stretching in a northwesterly to southeasterly direction across 2,000 km of the South Pacific.
The Tuamotu atolls exhibit a wide variety of forms, ranging from tiny circular-shaped atolls such as those of Niau and Anuanurunga to the large elongated structures of atolls such as Mururoa and Rangiroa. Some of the atolls of the Tuamotu Archipelago are amongst the largest and most impressive of atolls found anywhere on earth ? with Rangiroa and Fakarava being the largest of the Tuamotu atolls. | 
