page_title: Rangiroa
section_title: Scuba diving
hierarchical_section_title: Rangiroa / Tourism / Scuba diving
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Westlicher Teil von Rangiroa (Tuamotu-Archipel), die Lagune ist rechts English: Western part of the Rangiroa Atoll (French Polynesia) Français&#160;: Partie ouest de la couronne de l'atoll Rangiroa, Polynésie Française (photographié vers le nord)
context_page_description: Rangiroa or Te Kokōta is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus and one of the largest in the world.
  It is part of the Palliser group. The nearest atoll is Tikehau, 12 km to the west. It is about 355 km northeast of Tahiti. Rangiroa is home to about 2,500 people on almost 80 km². The chief town is Avatoru, in the atoll's northwest.
context_section_description: Rangiroa offers some of the best dives in the world in and around the Tiputa Pass, which lies at one end of the one main road and runs 3.5 km to the Avatoru Pass.
  Sedentary common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) regularly play group in the Pass. They can be viewed from the mainland but it is also one of the few places where they can be approached in scuba diving.
  Because of its large size and the existence of only two passes, each high tide creates a strong incoming current while each low tide creates a strong outgoing current in those two passes.
  When the current is flowing inward through Tiputa Pass, about 200 shark specimens gather at the entrance to the Tiputa Pass, at fifty meters deep. Led by the strong current, sharks can remain motionless and allow divers to observe them without any difficulty. Large manta rays, green sea turtles, and humphead wrasses can also be seen. Occasionally, tiger sharks and hammerhead sharks can also be spotted. In January, large number of stingrays gather in the Tiputa Pass, as well as hammerhead sharks that feed on them.
  A notable site in the atoll is the famous Blue Lagoon, which is a smaller lagoon formed on the southwestern edge of Rangiroa. Its shallow waters accentuate the bright blue color of the water. The Pink Sands are sandbars surrounded by numerous ro'a are located on the southeastern portion of Rangiroa.
caption: Western part of Rangiroa atoll
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