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Nukulaelae

atoll of Tuvalu

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ128654
Source-derived summary

Nukulaelae is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu, and it has a population of 300 (2017 census). The largest settlement is Pepesala on Fangaua islet with a population of 341 people (2022 Census). It has the form of an oval and consists of at least 15 islets. The inhabited islet is Fangaua, which is 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long and 50 to 200 metres (160 to 660 ft) wide. The easternmost point of Tuvalu is Niuoko islet. The Nukulaelae Conservation Area covers the eastern end of the lagoon. A baseline survey of marine life in the conservation zone was conducted in 2010.

History

The traditional history of Nukulaelae is that a white-skinned man was the first person to sight the island, but he did not settle as there were no trees. Nukulaelae means 'the land of sands'. Later, according to tradition, Valoa from Vaitupu discovered Nukulaelae while on a fishing expedition.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Nukulaelae” is atoll of Tuvalu. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Nukulaelae, atoll and Tuvalu, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2017, 2022, 2010—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Nukulaelae, atoll and Tuvalu is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “atoll of Tuvalu” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q128654. VIAF identifies the subject as 133823438. The Library of Congress control number is n90679818. Authority coordinates are -9.381, 179.852. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2017, 2022 and 2010.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

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  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Nukulaelae”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Nukulaelae primary sources, Nukulaelae archive and Nukulaelae research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Nukulaelae” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.