GAMBIER ISLANDS

French les Gambier, also called Mangareva Islands, southeasternmost extension of the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia in the central South Pacific, nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) east-southeast of Tahiti. The principal inhabited group of the Gambiers comprises the volcanic islets Mangareva (Magareva), Taravai, Akamaru, and Aukena. Mangareva, which is 5 miles (8 km) long and encircled by a barrier reef, rises to approximately 1,444 feet (440 m) in the peaks Duff and Mokoto; Rikitea, the chief village, with St. Michael's Cathedral (183471), is on its eastern side. Captain James Wilson of the missionary ship Duff sighted (1797) and named the Mangareva cluster for Admiral James Gambier. Annexed by the French in 1881, the group now forms a part of the Tuamotu-Gambier circonscription (circumscription) of French Polynesia. The inhabitants support themselves with subsistence agriculture, coconuts, and a little fishing. Pop. (1988) 620.