Efate (french: Éfaté) is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

which is part of the

Shefa Province Shefa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country and including the islands of Epi and Efate and the Shepherd Islands. The province's name is derived from the initial letters of SHepherd and EFAte. It has a popula ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

. It is also known as Île Vate.

Geography

It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Its geological past was heavily volcanic, meaning that a lava shelf surrounds much of the island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in

Port Vila Port Vila (french: Port-Vila), or simply Vila (; french: Vila; bi, Vila ), is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the island of Efate. Its population in the last census (2009) was 44,040, an increase of 35% on the pr ...

, the national capital. Its highest mountain is Mount McDonald with a height of .

History

Captain James Cook named it Sandwich Island "in honour of my noble patron, the

Earl of Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...

" on his 1774 voyage on . During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Efate served an important role as a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

military base. On March 13, 2015,

, the island's largest human settlement and the capital of Vanuatu, bore extensive damage from

Cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. A total of 15–16 people lost ...

Politics

Efate became an independent commune in 1889 when residents declared the region as

Franceville Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savor ...

. However, by 1890 the commune was broken up. Efate is governed by both the Port Vila Municipality and the Shefa Provincial Council, whose governance is the town limits of Port Vila only, and rural Efate and the outer Efate Islands, respectively. The Island outside of Port Vila is represented in Parliament by the five-seat riding of Efate. Port Vila has its own five-seat riding. These ten MPs are elected through

Single non-transferable voting Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is an electoral system used to elect multiple winners. It is a generalization of first-past-the-post, applied to multi-member districts with each voter casting just one vote. Unlike FPTP, which is a single-winn ...

Small Islands off Efate

Around Efate lie many small islands, among them are

Eretoka Eretoka (also Hat Island, Érétoka, Retoka, Artok) is a small uninhabited island in Shefa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. The island lies off the western coast of Efate Island. There is a lighthouse built in the 1960s. Geography Eret ...

(Hat) Island, Lelepa,

Nguna Nguna Island is an outer island off the north coast of Efate, Vanuatu in Undine Bay. It is neighbored to the east by Pele Island and to the west by Moso Island. Geography The island is bisected by two extinct volcano craters, the highest of ...

, Pele, Ekapum Lep, Erueti Lep, Ekapum Rik,

Iriwiti Lep Iriwiti Lep is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Shefa Province of Vanuatu. Geography The island lies off the south coast of Efate Island Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of t ...

Hideaway Island Mele Island (also known as Hideaway Island) is a Polynesian outlier and islet in Vanuatu. The island is owned by the local Mele villagers, but is leased to the owners of Hideaway Island Resort. On the seaward side of the island is a marine reserv ...

Ifira Island Ifira is an offshore island of efate located in Shefa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Ifira lies off the coast of Efate Island in Vila harbour. Ifira spans about from the north to the south and from the east to the west. Th ...

, and Emao. Eretoka Island is a small island that, when seen from a distance looks like a floppy hat. This is where the famous

Chief Roi Mata Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a powerful Melanesian chief in what is now Vanuatu. He is believed to have lived at the end of the 16th century, or the beginning of the 17th. ''Chief Roi Mata's domain'' (UNESCO report). In 2008, three sites ...

, along with his 20 wives and many other servants, were buried.J. Maarten Troost, ''Getting Stoned with Savages'', Broadway Books, 2006 (). Nguna, Pele and Emao are stratovolcanoes, which may form the rim of a volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

to their north.

''Survivor''

Efate was used as the location for three seasons of the

reality game show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

, '' Survivor''. The island was used for season 9 of the American edition of ''Survivor'' (titled '' Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire''), season 2 of '' Australian Survivor'' (titled '' Australian Celebrity Survivor: Vanuatu'') and season 6 of the French edition (titled '' Koh-Lanta: Vanuatu''). Much of the ''Survivor: Vanuatu'' and ''Australian Celebrity Survivor'' was filmed approximately 30 minutes from Port Vila near Mangililu and Gideon's Landing, the latter of which is now a commonly visited tourist attraction.

Tourism

The capital of

is the hub of tourism in Vanuatu receiving approximately 60 000 tourists annually by air transport, cruise ships and the yachting community. Due to the British and French influence both cuisines are readily available in the capital. Budget dining include the scattered Chinese eateries across Vila and the Mummas Market downtown. Outside of Port Vila a more rustic destination awaits, with most people living a traditional lifestyle: cooking island food or 'aelan kakae', tending their gardens daily as subsistence agriculture is the dominant economy in Vanuatu, and swimming at the beach. Port Vila services the domestic carrier

Air Vanuatu Air Vanuatu is an airline with its head office in the Air Vanuatu House, Port Vila, Vanuatu. It is Vanuatu's national flag carrier, operating to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and points in the South Pacific. Its main base is Bauerfiel ...

which goes to the outer islands of Vanuatu. Popular destinations such as Tanna and Santo can be reached daily from Port Vila, while more remote locations can be reached on a less regular basis. The island is served by

Bauerfield International Airport Bauerfield International Airport (french: Aéroport International Bauerfield) is an airport located in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The airport is relatively small in size, but its runway has the capability and length to accept jets up to the Airbus A330. ...

. Efate offers a range of tourism attractions and activities including Mele Cascades,

Eton Beach Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, Tanalilui Road Markets, Round Island Tour, Buggy Fun Rental, Diving and Sunset Cruises.

Notable people

Litiana Kalsrap Litiana Kalsrap (born 1992) is a youth leader and climate activist from Vanuatu. In 2020 she was the youngest woman to contest a seat in the 2020 Vanuatu general election. In 2018 she was a recipient of a Queens Young Leader Award. Biography K ...

- climate activist and youth leader

References

External links

Languages of Efate
- Bibliography of the island's indigenous languages * South Efate language Wikipedia entry. *Work on Efate is available through

Paradisec The Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC) is a cross-institutional project that supports work on endangered languages and cultures of the Pacific and the region around Australia. They digitise reel- ...

'
open access collections
including collections from Arther Capell and Nick Thieburger. {{authority control Islands of Vanuatu Shefa Province Volcanoes of Vanuatu