Geography
Rapa Iti is located at 27°35′00″S 144°20′00″W / 27.5833333°S 144.3333333°W / -27.5833333; -144.3333333. It is shaped roughly like a Greek final sigma (ς), with a well-protected central bay, surrounded by a ring of relatively high mountains. The whole island appears very much to be the peak of a sinking volcano, with the bay as the caldera. The area of the island is 40 km2 (15 sq mi).
Its main town, Ahuréi (sometimes called Ahurei, Ha'urei or Ha'uréi, latter two also show how it is pronounced), lies on the southern shore of that bay, which is called the Baie d'Ahuréi. A smaller village, 'Area, is located on the northern shore of the bay. The people are Polynesian. Former times' warfare is indicated by 28 extant ridgetop forts. Today Rapa is home to the Tahitian Choir, in which a third of the island's population sing traditional songs.
Although sometimes considered part of the Austral Islands, Rapa Iti and the Bass Islands have a different geological, linguistic and cultural history.
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