Efate Island
Map of Efate
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 17°40′S 168°25′E / 17.667°S 168.417°ECoordinates: 17°40′S 168°25′E / 17.667°S 168.417°E |
| Archipelago | Vanuatu |
| Area | 899.5 km2 (347.3 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 647 m (2,123 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount McDonald |
| Administration | |
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Vanuatu
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| Province | Shefa Province |
| Largest settlement | Port Vila (pop. 44,040) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 65,829 (2009) |
| Pop. density | 55.6 /km2 (144 /sq mi) |
Efate is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate.
It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of 899.5 square kilometres (347.3 sq mi) makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national capital. Its highest mountain is Mount McDonald with a height of 647 metres (2,123 ft).
Captain James Cook named it Sandwich Island "in honour of my noble patron, the Earl of Sandwich" on his 1774 voyage on the HMS Resolution.
During World War II, Efate served an important role as a United States military base.
On March 13, 2015, Port Vila, the island's largest human settlement and the capital of Vanuatu, bore extensive damage from Cyclone Pam.
Efate became an independent commune in 1889 when residents declared the region as Franceville. However, by 1890 the commune was broken up.
Efate is governed by both the Port Vila Municipality and the Shefa Provincial Council, whose governance is the town limits of Port Vila only, and rural Efate and the outer Efate Islands, respectively.
North and west of Efate are small islands called Eratoka (Hat) Island, Lelepa, Nguna, Pele and Emao. Eratoka Island is a small island that, when seen from a distance looks like a floppy hat. This is where the famous Chief Roi Mata, along with his 20 wives, were buried. Nguna, Pele and Emao are stratovolcanoes, which may form the rim of a volcanic caldera to their north.
Efate was used as the location 3 seasons the reality game show, Survivor. The island was used for season 9 of the American edition of Survivor (titled Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire), season 2 of Australian Survivor (titled Australian Celebrity Survivor: Vanuatu) and season 6 of the French edition (titled Koh-Lanta: Vanuatu). Much of the Survivor: Vanuatu and Australian Celebrity Survivor was filmed approximately 30 minutes from Port Vila near Mangililu and Gideon’s Landing, the latter of which is now a commonly visited tourist attraction.
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Wikipedia