Efate

Efate (Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Its geological past was heavily volcanic, meaning that a lava shelf surrounds much of the island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national capital. Its highest mountain is Mount McDonald with a height of . Captain James Cook named it Sandwich Island "in honour of my noble patron, the Earl of Sandwich" on his 1774 voyage on . 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. The Island outside of Port Vila is represented in Parliament by the five-seat riding of Efate. Port Vila has its own five-seat riding. These ten MPs are elected through Single non-transferable voting. Around Efate lie many small islands, among them are Eretoka (Hat) Island, Lelepa, Nguna, Pele, Ekapum Lep, Erueti Lep, Ekapum Rik, Iriwiti Lep, Hideaway Island, Ifira Island, and Emao. Eretoka 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 and many other servants, 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 for three seasons of the reality game show, Survivor.