Bora Bora is an atoll in French Polynesia, about 260 km northwest of Papeete. It is made of an extinct volcano, surrounded by a lagoon and a fringing reef. Its highest point is Mount Otemanu at the center of the atoll (727 meters).

As of 2000, the population was about 4.500 people.

The original name in the Tahitian language might be better rendered as Pora Pora, meaning "First Born".

History

The island was settled by Polynesian people about the 4th century. While the island was sighted by earlier explorers, James Cook led the first group of Europeans to visit the island in 1777.

In 1842 Bora Bora was made a protectorate of France.

World War II

During World War II, following the December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan, Bora Bora was chosen as a South Pacific supply base for the American forces. An oil depot, an airstrip, a seaplane base, and a defensive infrastructure were set up. The base was abandonned June 2nd, 1946.

Today

Today the island is mainly dependent on tourism. It has many high-scale resorts, mainly visited by American and Japanese tourists.

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