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 isla ...

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 conti ...

which is part of the Shefa Province in

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 ...

. 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 James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

military base. On March 13, 2015,

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

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 Sa ...

. 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.

Small Islands off Efate

Around Efate lie many small islands, among them are Eretoka (Hat) Island, Lelepa, Nguna, Pele,

Ekapum Lep Ekapum Lep is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Shefa Province of Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island ...

Erueti Lep Erueti Lep (also Îlot Erouéti, Éruéti) is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Shefa Province of Vanuatu. Geography The island lies 16 km south of Port-Vila in Efate Island Efate (french: Éfaté) is an islan ...

, Ekapum Rik, Iriwiti Lep, Hideaway Island, Ifira Island, and

Emao Emao is a small inhabited island in Shefa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. It was also previously known as Montague Island. Geography Emao is located in the southeastern part of the country, some 30 km north-east of Port-Vila ...

. 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, 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

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and peri ...

es, 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 ''Australian Survivor'' is an Australian adventure reality game show based on the international '' Survivor'' format. Following the premise of other versions of the ''Survivor'' format, the show features a group of contestants, referred to as " ...

'' (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 Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no ...

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 Bauerfield ...

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, 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 ...

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