"the truest picture of an arcadia (idyllic and peaceful)
… that the imagination can form." (Joseph Banks, 1769)
Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia,
located in the archipelago of Society Islands. The island had a population of 169,674
inhabitants at the 2002 census. The capital is Papeete, on the northwest coast. The whole
urban area of Papeete has a total population of 127,635 inhabitants (2002 census). The
island consists of two land mass connected by a short isthmus named Taravao. The
northwestern part is known as Tahiti Nui, or big Tahiti, and the southeastern part, much
smaller, is known as Tahiti Iti (small Tahiti). Tahiti is some 45 km long at the widest
point and covers 1,048 km², with the highest elevation being at 2,241 meters above sea
level (Mount Orohena). About 17 kilometers west of Tahiti, is the island of Moorea.
Tahiti island seen from the Space
Shuttle.
ISS007-E-14621 "Image
courtesy of the Image Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center":
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov
Mount Diademe (1300m.), Tahiti.
Sunset over Moorea.
Black sand beach Matavai Bay, Tahiti.
Light-house, Point Venus, Matavai Bay,
Tahiti.
Inscriptions in the Light-house, Point
Venus, Matavai Bay, Tahiti.
