Cook's Bay, Moorea, French Polynesia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Moorea-Maiao is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of
France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune is in the administrative
subdivision of the Windward Islands. Moorea Rolfe is a synonym of the orchid
genus Neomoorea.
Geography
Location : Pacific Ocean
Coordinates : 17°32′S 149°50′W / 17.533°S 149.833°W / -17.533; -149.833
Archipelago : Society Islands
Area : 134 km²
Highest point : Mont Tohivea (1207 m)
Country : France
Overseas collectivity : French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision : Windward Islands
Commune : Moorea-Maiao
Largest city : Paopao-Maharepa (4,244 inhabitant
Demographics
Population : 16,191[1] (as of Aug. 2007 census)
Density : 121 /km2 (310 /sq mi)
Moorea is a high island in French Polynesia, part of the Society Islands, 17
km (roughly 9mi) northwest of Tahiti. Its position is 17°32′S 149°50′W /
17.533°S 149.833°W / -17.533; -149.833. Moorea means "yellow lizard" in
Tahitian. An older name for the island is Aimeho, sometimes spelled Aimeo or
Eimeo (among other spellings misunderstood by early visitors with no
knowledge of the language). Early Western colonists and voyagers also
referred to Moorea as York Island.
The commune of Moorea-Maiao is made up of the island of Moorea (133 km²/51
sq. miles; 16,191 inhabitants at the 2007 census) and the much smaller atoll
of Maiao (8.8 km²/3.4 sq. miles; 299 inhabitants at the 2007 census),
located 78 km (48.5 miles) southwest of Moorea. The administrative centre of
the commune is the settlement of Afareaitu, on the island of Moorea.
Physical description
From above, the shape of the island vaguely resembles a heart, with its two
nearly symmetrical bays opening to the north side of the island: Cook's (or
Paopao) Bay and Opunohu Bay. The island was formed as a volcano 1.5 to 2.5
million years ago, the result of a geologic hotspot in the mantle under the
oceanic plate that formed the whole of the Society Archipelago. It is
theorized that the current bays were formerly river basins that filled
during the Holocene searise.
History
Charles Darwin was inspired for his theory regarding the formation of coral atolls when looking down upon Moorea standing on a peak on Tahiti. He described it as a "picture in a frame," referring to the barrier reef encircling the island. Don the Beachcomber lived here for some time until his houseboat was destroyed by tropical cyclones. The island was among those visited by the United States Exploring Expedition on its tour of the South Pacific in 1839.