Tahiti

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Society Islands

French Polynesia

Tahiti

 

 

Bora-Bora Huahine Moorea Raiatea Rangiroa Takapoto

 

Papeete (1977)

 

 

Tahiti (French Taïtiv), formerly Otaheite, island of French Polynesia (an overseas territory of France), the largest and most important of the Society Islands, in the southern Pacific Ocean. Tahiti is one of the Windward group, or the southeastern part of the Society Islands. It is 53 km (33 mi) long and 26 km (16 mi) wide with a total area of about 1036 sq km (about 400 sq mi).

 

 

The island consists of two unequal and nearly circular portions connected by a narrow isthmus called Taravao, about 1.6 km (about 1 mi) wide and 15 m (50 ft) or less above sea level. The island is of volcanic origin and is mountainous. The climate is warm and equable, the temperature ranging from 16° to 32° C (60° to 90° F). Rainfall is abundant, and the island is covered with luxuriant vegetation.

 

 

The population of Tahiti (1988) is 115,820, and the indigenous inhabitants are Polynesians. The chief town on the island is Papeete (population, 1988, 23,555), which is also the capital of French Polynesia.

Agricultural products are bananas, coconuts, oranges, sugarcane, and vanilla beans. The principal manufacturing industries are the preparation of copra, sugar, and rum. Pearls and mother-of-pearl are gathered. The chief exports include copra, vanilla beans, mother-of-pearl, and phosphates. Tourism is also important.

 

Cook Memorial

French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville visited Tahiti in 1768 and claimed it for France. The next year British lieutenant James Cook explored the island. British naval officer William Bligh, captain of the Bounty, landed here in 1788, a year before the famed mutiny on his ship. France declared Tahiti a protectorate in 1842 and a colony in 1880. French artist Paul Gauguin did many of his paintings here in the early 1890s. In 1946 the island, as part of French Polynesia, became a French overseas territory.

 

church on island interior

 

people live from the sea

 

fishing nets and boats

 

 

net fishing

 

protestant church

 

 

 

 

pineapples from Moorea on dock in front of
Kon Tiki Hotel in Papeete
(1977)

 

port of Papeete in 1995

 

the Ono Ono hydrofoil vessels
with service to the other Society Islands

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Other Society Islands

Photos of Bora-Bora

Photos of Moorea

Photos of Rangiroa

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HUANINE

 

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More Photos of Huahine

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RAIATEA

 

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most revered spot in Polynesia

More Photos of Raiatea

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Takapoto, one of the TUAMOTU Islands

 

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the beach

 

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black pearls

More Photos of Takapoto

Photos of Rangiroa, another of the Tuamotu islands

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Bora-Bora Huahine Moorea Raiatea Rangiroa Takapoto

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Other Pacific Islands

 

In the Pacific are many islands with very diverse peoples and cultures.
  Many have been largely untouched by Western civilization.
  To visit these is a unique experience.

American Samoa Cook Islands Easter Island Fiji Guam Hawaiian Islands Indonesia Kiribati Marquesas Marshall Islands Midway Atoll Nauru New Caledonia New Zealand Norfolk Island Palau Papua New Guinea Pohnpei  - Micronesia Rapa Nui Saipan Samoa Solomon Islands Tahiti Timor-Leste Tinian island Tonga Truk  -  Micronesia Tuvalu Vanuatu Yap

 

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Cook Islands

 

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Fiji

 

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Guam

 

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Hawaiian Islands

 

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Kiribati

 

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Marquesas

 

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Midway Atoll

 

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Nauru

 

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New Caledonia

 

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New Zealand

 

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Norfolk Island

 

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Palau

 

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Papua New Guinea

 

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Pohnpei

 

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Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

 

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Saipan

 

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Samoa

 

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Tahiti

 

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Tinian

 

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Tonga

 

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Truk

 

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Solomon Islands

 

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Trobriand Islands

 

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Vanuatu

 

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Yap

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Indonesia

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The Indonesian Island of Bali

 

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Flores

 

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Irian Jaya

 

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The Indonesian Island of Java

 

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The Indonesian Island of Komodo

 

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The Indonesian Islands of MOLUKA

 

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The Indonesian Island of Selayar

 

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The Indonesian Island of Sulawesi

 

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The Indonesian Island of Sumatra

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