France
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
28.6km²
Area
23km
Coastline
80m
Highest point
61
People
29°C
Warmest sea
March
5,922km
To the mainland
When to go to Makatea
Best for the beach from May to September.
The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in French Polynesia
Makatea is an atoll in France. It belongs to Palliser Islands. It covers 28.6 km², with 23 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 80 m. About 61 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 5,922 km away.
Getting there
- Tikehau Airport (TIH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 80 km in a straight lineCar hire at BES airport (Brest)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 5,922 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From May to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Makatea.
- 10beaches
- 1viewpointsAncienne Eolienne
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 52 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 50 %0–50 m
- 50 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 177 | 142 | 125 | 88 | 81 | 57 | 38 | 37 | 33 | 76 | 103 | 197 |
| Wet days | 21 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 7.7 | 7.8 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 7.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 21 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 19 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | −0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 |
| 2022 | −0.5 | −0.8 | −0.6 | −0.4 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.5 |
| 2023 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q118904) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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