Bora Bora

Bora Bora (French: Bora-Bora; Tahitian: Pora Pora) is an island group in the Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, which is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. Bora Bora has a total land area of . The main island, located about northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano, rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu; the highest point is at . Bora Bora is part of the Commune of Bora-Bora, which also includes the atoll of Tūpai. The languages spoken in Bora Bora are Tahitian and French. However, due to the high tourism population, many natives of Bora Bora have learned to speak English. Bora Bora is a major international tourist destination, famous for its seaside (and even offshore) luxury resorts. The major settlement, Vaitape, is on the western side of the main island, opposite the main channel leading into the lagoon. Produce of the island is mostly limited to what can be obtained from the sea and from the plentiful coconut trees, which were historically of economic importance for the production of copra. In ancient times the island was called Pora pora mai te pora, meaning "created by the gods" in the local Tahitian language. This was often abbreviated Pora Pora meaning simply "first born". The Tahitian, along with the English, French and Dutch languages each use a unique set of phonemes, so the spelling and pronunciation of the name changes as it passes from one language to another. Since Tahitian does not distinguish between the sounds [p] and [b], the sound represented by lies between the two, and represents a sound not present in English similar in sound to [l] and [ɹ̠]. So Pora Pora could also be heard by English, French or Dutch speakers as 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.