Its shape is roughly square and its lagoon is totally enclosed by the fringing reef.

First sighting recorded by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 4 February 1606.

With the other three atolls of the Duke of Gloucester Islands they were named Cuatro Coronas (Four Crowns in Spanish).

[3] British naval officer and explorer Philip Carteret visited the Duke of Gloucester islands in 1767.

[4] Formerly Ananuararo Atoll belonged to Robert Wan, the wealthy Tahitian pearl trader.