Emae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Emae (coordinates 17°4′S, 168°24′E) is an island in the Shepherds Islands, Shefa, Vanuatu. Maunga Lasi is the highest peak in the archipelago, at 644 m. It forms the northern rim of the (mostly) underwater volcano of Makura, which also covers the nearby islands of Makura and Mataso. It is 10 km long and up to 5 km wide, with an area of 32 square kilometers.

The island supports a population of about 750, growing at 3.1% per year. The principal economic activity is subsistence agriculture. The GDP of the island is $457 per capita.

Unlike the surrounding islands populated by Melanesians, it is a Polynesian outlier. The island's language, also called Emae, is in the Futunic language family, which includes most of the outliers. North Efate, one of the other languages of the archipelago, is used as a second language.

The island has an airport, Siwo Airport (IATA code: EAE). The nearby Cook Reef is a popular dive site.

Many of the islanders now live in Port Vila. The crowning of four Emae chiefs in 2004 occurred there, and many of the tribal chiefs live there. [1]

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Polynesia
Polynesian triangle
Polynesian outliers
and peripheral cultures
Anuta · Emae · Futuna · Kapingamarangi · Mele · Nuguria · Nukumanu · Nukuoro · Ontong Java · Ouvéa · Pileni · Rennell · Rotuma · Sikaiana · Takuu · Tikopia
  This Vanuatu location article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.