Tahiti and Her Islands, officially known as French Polynesia, are sprinkled over four million square kilometers ( one and a half million sq. miles) of ocean in the eastern South Pacific.The total land area of these 118 islands and atolls adds up to only 4,000 sq. km. ( 1,544 sq. miles), and consists of five archipelagoes: the Society Islands, Austral Islands, Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu atolls and the Mangareva Islands.

Papeete, capital of French Polynesia, is located on Tahiti, the largest island, at 17 degrees 32 min. S. Latitude and 149 degrees 34 min. W. Longitude; 6,520 km (4,050 miles) from California, 5,390 km ( 3,350 miles) from Australia, 9,500 km ( 5,900 miles) from Japan, 8,000 km ( 4,900 miles) from South America and 17,700 km ( 11,000 miles) from Europe.