Leeward Islands (Society Islands)
The Leeward Islands are the western part of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France, in the South Pacific Ocean. They lie south of the Line Islands, east of the Cooks and north of the Austral Islands. Their area is 404 km2 and their population is over 36,000.
View of Raiatea island from a plane
The Society Islands are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Moʻorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. Geographically, they form part of Polynesia.
HMS Resolution and Discovery in Huahine, commanded by James Cook, depicted by John Cleveley. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
Bora Bora, Society Islands
View of Mou'a Roa (880 m), Mo'orea Island
Shark on the Moorea reef