Tetiaroa Island is part of the Society Islands archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean, one of several island clusters in French Polynesia. Tetiaroa is an atoll comprised of thirteen small islets (or motus). This astronaut photograph illustrates the typical circular appearance of a fully developed atoll. The ring of islands - covered in green vegetation and white-to-tan sandy beaches - develops on coral reefs, which originally form around a volcanic island. As the volcanic island gradually disappears due to subsidence and erosion, the coral reefs continue to grow upwards. Over time, the central volcanic island is completely submerged, leaving a ring of coral reefs and islands that surround a lagoon. The shallow lagoon waters appear blue-green in this image, and contrast with darker and deeper Pacific Ocean waters surrounding the atoll. One of the motus in the southern portion of the atoll, Tahuna Rahi, is a protected bird sanctuary. Image courtesy of NASA.

Spanning less than 10 km (6 mi), Maupiti Island sits about 46 km (29 mi) west of Bora Bora. The remote island lies 5,800 km (3,600 mi) from Australia, and about 3,800 km (2,400 mi) from New Zealand. Maupiti consists of a central island poking 213 m (700 ft) above the sea surface, framed by low-profile serpentine islands and coral reefs that enclose a lagoon. This satellite image of Maupiti Island shows the water inside the lagoon glowing electric blue, surrounded by much paler blues of fringing coral reefs. Waves breaking on Maupiti?s southwestern shores appear brilliant white. Above the water line, forests carpet the islands. Only on the central island does the land rise high enough to cast a discernible shadow, and because this island sits in the Southern Hemisphere, the shadow falls to the south at this time of year. On the northeastern fringing island, the landing strip of a tiny airport cuts a long east-west line across vegetated land and coral reef. Photo courtesy of NASA.

This astronaut photo captures the evolutionary process of fringing reefs gradually becoming atolls. As with the Hawaiian Islands, these volcanic hot spot islands become progressively older to the northwest. As these islands move away from their magma sources they erode and subside. The two large islands, Raiatea and Tahaa, share a single fringing reef. The next island to the northwest, Bora-Bora, consists of a highly eroded volcanic remnant with fringing reef. The last island, Tupai, signifies the destiny of these islands; the fringing reef has become an atoll with the central island below sea level. Image courtesy of NASA.

Considered by many as one of the natural wonders of the world, the island of Bora-Bora is a single island surrounded by an extensive coral reef and a beautiful blue lagoon captured in the center of this low-oblique photograph. The coral reef north of Bora-Bora is Tupai Atoll. The two islands southeast of Bora-Bora - Tahaa (northern island) and Raiatea (larger southern island) - are encircled by a single coral reef system. Image courtesy of NASA.

The two islands of Tahaa (top) and Raiatea (bottom) in the Society Islands chain may once have been a single island. They are encircled by a single coral reef system. Image courtesy of NASA.

The tropical island of Moorea as viewed from the International Space Station. The barrier reefs surrounding the island create zones of shallow, tranquil light blue waters. Image courtesy of NASA.

Hiva Oa Island in the Marquesas archipelago.

Nuku Hiva Island in the Marquesas archipelago.

Stone tiki on Nuku Hiva Island in the Marquesas archipelago.

Elaborate stone tiki on Nuku Hiva Island in the Marquesas archipelago.

Another view of "paradise." This is Bora Bora's "downtown," a tiny grocery store, a car rental place, and not much else.

Panoramic view of Moorea.

View from Bora Bora in the Society Islands.

Fakarava Islands in the Society Islands.

Off the coast of Bora Bora in the Society Islands.

Moorea in the Society Islands.

Waterfalls near Papeete, Tahiti, in the Society Islands.

Yellow tang at Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands.

Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands.

Over-water bungalows in Bora Bora are a major tourist draw.

Relaxation is the name of the game in Bora Bora.

Palm trees and beaches in Bora Bora.

Tranquility on Bora Bora.

Evening on the beach in Bora Bora.

Nightfall over an over-water bungalow in Bora Bora.

Bora Bora's underwater life is plentiful and beautiful.

Bora Bora from the air.

Bora Bora from the air; over-water bungalows in lower left.