Atafu

Atafu, formerly known as the Duke of York Group, is a group of 52 coral islets within Tokelau in the south Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. With a land area of , it is the smallest of the three islands that constitute Tokelau. It is an atoll and surrounds a central lagoon, which covers some . The atoll lies south of the equator at 8° 35' South, 172° 30' West. According to the 2016 census, 541 people officially live on Atafu (although only 413 were present the night the census was taken). Of those present, 78% belong to the Congregational Church. The main settlement on the atoll is located on Atafu Island in its northwestern corner. The Presbyterian church was established on the island in 1858, but today almost all of the residents belong to the Congregational Christian Church. The first village on Atafu was established at its southern end: Residents built houses along the lagoon shore to take best advantage of the cooling trade winds. Fishing is traditionally done by the men on Atafu, and they are highly skilled at it. They use many traditional methods that are passed on from fathers to sons. They create very effective lures, fish traps, nets, and seines. They commonly use the technique called "noose fishing", in which a circle of rope, tied with a noose knot, is dangled in the water; a large fish swims into the rope circle, lured by bait, and the noose is then tightened around its body, holding it fast. They also make well-crafted canoes, which they use for their fishing expeditions. Atafu lies in the Pacific hurricane belt. In January 1914, a massive storm demolished the church and most of the houses on the islands, and wiped out many of the coconut palms. The atoll is roughly triangular in shape and encloses a lagoon some north to south by east to west at its widest point. It is low-lying, reaching a maximum altitude of only some , and is heavily vegetated with coconut palms and other trees, with undergrowth similar to that found on many small central Pacific islands. Lizards, rats, and seabirds are common on Atafu island.