Society Islands
The Society Islands (Archipel de la Société) comprise two groups of islands: the Windward
Islands (Îles du Vent) and the Leeward Islands (Îles Sous le Vent) with a total land area of
1,680 km². The group is a mix of mountainous islands and coral atolls spread over 720 km of the
central South Pacific.
The Windward Islands in the east include the mountainous islands of Tahiti (1,042 km²) upon which sits the main population centre of Papeete, Moorea (132 km²), the steep-sided Mehetia (2.6 km²), and the atoll of Tetiaroa (6.5 km²); the Leeward Islands are comprised of the mountainous islands of Ra'iatea (238 km²), Taha'a (91 km²), Huahine (74 km²), Bora Bora (29 km²) and the atolls of Maupiti (5 km²), Maiao (9.5 km²), Maupihaa (2.6 km²), Tupai (11 km²), Manuae (3.5 km²) and Motu One (3 km²).
The Society Islands were formed by volcanic events taking place over a hot spot located near the island of Mehetia. They islands exhibit an age progression from east to west, ranging in age from Mehetia (less than 1 million years old), to Moorea (1.5 to 2 million years old), and finally to the atolls of the Leeward Islands (around 4.5 million years old). After their formation the development of the islands has been affected by the drift of the Indo-Pacific Plate in a northwesterly direction and by the processes of subsidence and erosion. As a result, the reefs and lagoons which are poorly developed in the eastern part of the group (as around Tahiti and Mehetia) become much larger towards the northwest, forming large fringing reefs around mountainous islands such as Rai'atea & Taha'a and Moorea, finally forming atolls such as Maupihaa and Tupai.
The climate of the islands is tropical with a mean annual temperature of 26°C. The wet season from December to February brings heavy rains to the islands, whilst from March to November weather is drier and cooler. Annual rainfall ranges from 1,700 mm near sea level to over 8,000 mm on cloud-shrouded mountain peaks. Easterly trade winds are consistent throughout half the year.