Alofi Island

Hoorn Islands (Futuna and Alofi) with Alofi Island in the southeast

Alofi is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer, or COM) of Wallis and Futuna.

Overview

It is virtually uninhabited (population 2 as of census of 2003 in the village of Alofitai in the west), and under the chief of Alo on Futuna, but in pre-European times it was as densely populated as Futuna, which would have been a population of almost 1900. Former villages were Sologa (north), Sa'avaka (southeast), Alofitai (west), and Mua (northwest). Some maps also show a village of Gaino in the north. Alofi island is only 2 kilometres southeast of Futuna. Those Futunians who have plantations on Alofi come there at least every Saturday to tend their gardens. A popular crop is tobacco, and they then take enough leaves with them to be able to have a smoke for the rest of the week.

The island has an area of 32 km² and Mont Kolofau (also called Mont Bougainville) reaches to an height of 410m. It is also known as one of the two Horne Islands, Futuna being the other.