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Huahine
	Commune of Huahine
	Location
	Location of the commune (in red) within the Leeward Islands
Administration
Country	France
Overseas community	French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision	Leeward Islands
Commune centre	Fare
Mayor	Marcelin Lisan
Statistics
Elevation	0–669 m (0–2,200 ft)
Land area	74.8 km2 (28.9 sq mi)
Population1	5,999 (August 2007 census)
- Density	80 /km2 (210 /sq mi)
	Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	98724/ 98731
	1 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

For the town in Thailand, see Hua Hin.

Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Leeward Islands group (Iles sous le Vent).

[edit] Geography

NASA picture of Huahine viewed from the north.

Huahine measures 16 km (9.9 mi) in length, with a maximum width of 13 km (8.1 mi). It is made up of two main islands surrounded by a fringing coral reef with several motu. Huahine Nui (Big Huahine) lies to the north and Huahine Iti (Little Huahine) to the south. The two islands are separated by a few hundred yards of water and joined by a sandspit at low tide. A small bridge was built to connect Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti. NW of Huahine Iti lies a 375 ha brackish lake known as Lac Fauna Nui (Lac Maeva). This lake is all that remains of the ancient atoll lagoon. There is an airport at Huahine. It was inaugurated in 1971.

[edit] Administration

Administratively Huahine is a commune (municipality) part of the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands. The administrative centre of the commune is the settlement of Fare, on Huahine Nui.

[edit] Tourist attraction

Fare, Huahine: After school play interrupted by the catch and release of a stingray

One of the famous^{[citation needed]}attractions on Huahine is a bridge that crosses over a stream with 3- to 6-foot (1.8 m) long eels. These eels are deemed sacred by the locals, by local mythology. While viewing these slithering creatures, tourists can buy a can of mackerel and feed the eels. The Fa'ahia archaeological site in the north of the island has revealed subfossil remains of several species of extinct birds exterminated by the earliest Polynesian colonists of the island.