The archipelago of the Leeward Islands (or “îles Sous-le-Vent”) in French Polynesia, an overseas French territory since 1946, includes this island of 15 square miles (38 km2), whose name means “first born” in Polynesian. It is made up of the emerged portion of the crater of a 7-million-year-old volcano and surrounded by a coral barrier reef. Motus, small coral islands with beaches and vegetation that consists mainly of coconut trees, have developed along the reef. The lagoon’s only opening to the sea is Teavanui Pass, which is deep enough to allow cargo and warships to enter. The island was used as a military base by the United States in World War II. All of the coral formations of the planet cover only 110,000 square miles (284,000 km2) of sea territory (the equivalent of about half of the state of Texas) in intertropical regions where the water temperature favours their growth. Limited in extent, these areas still contain a remarkable biological di

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