Bora Bora
NASA picture of the island of Bora Bora and its lagoon
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Archipelago | Society Islands |
| Area | 29.3 km2 (11.3 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 727 m (2,385 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Otemanu |
| Administration | |
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France
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| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
| Administrative subdivision | Leeward Islands |
| Commune | Bora-Bora |
| Largest settlement | Vaitape (pop. 4,927 inhabitants) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 8,880 (August 2007 census) |
| Pop. density | 300 /km2 (800 /sq mi) |
| Bora-Bora | |
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 Location of the commune (in red) within the Leeward Islands |
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| Coordinates: 16°29′40″S 151°44′11″W / 16.4944°S 151.7364°WCoordinates: 16°29′40″S 151°44′11″W / 16.4944°S 151.7364°W | |
| Country | France |
| Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gaston Tong Sang |
| Area | 40.3 km2 (15.6 sq mi) |
| Population (August 2007 census)1 | 8,927 |
| • Density | 220/km2 (570/sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 98714 / 98730 |
| Elevation | 0–727 m (0–2,385 ft) |
| 1Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Bora Bora is a 29.3 km2 (11 sq mi) island in the Leeward group in the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island, located about 230 kilometres (143 miles) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the centre of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 metres (2,385 feet).
Bora Bora is a major international tourist destination, famous for its aqua-centric luxury resorts. The major settlement, Vaitape, is on the western side of the main island, opposite the main channel into the lagoon. Produce of the island is mostly limited to what can be obtained from the sea and the plentiful coconut trees, which were historically of economic importance for copra. According to a 2008 census, Bora Bora has a permanent population of 8,880.
In ancient times the island was called "Pora pora mai te pora", meaning "created by the gods" in the local Tahitian dialect. This was often abbreviated Pora Pora meaning simply first born. Because of ambiguities in the phonemes of the Tahitian language, this could also be pronounced Bola Bola or Bora Bora. When explorer Jacob Roggeveen first landed on the island, he and his crew adopted the name Bora Bora which has stood ever since.
The island was inhabited by Polynesian settlers around the 4th century C.E. The first European sighting was made by Jakob Roggeveen in 1722. James Cook sighted the island in 1770 and landed that same year. The London Missionary Society arrived in 1820 and founded a Protestant church in 1890. Bora Bora was an independent kingdom until 1888 when its last queen Teriimaevarua III was forced to abdicate by the French who annexed the island as a colony.
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Wikipedia