Rapa, also called Rapa Iti, or "Little Rapa", to distinguish it from Easter Island, whose Polynesian name is Rapa Nui, is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo. The total land area including offshore islets is . As of the 2017 census, Rapa had a population of 507. The island's highest point is at elevation at Mont Perahu. Its main town is Ahuréi. The inhabitants of Rapa Iti speak their own Polynesian language called the Rapa language. Geography Rapa Iti is located at . It is shaped roughly like a Greek final sigma (ς), with a well-protected central bay, surrounded by a ring of relatively high mountains. The whole island appears to be the peak of a sinking volcano, with the bay as well as the caldera. The area of the main island is 38.5 km2. Little Rapa Tauturau is an offshore island. Its main town, Ahuréi (or Ha'uréi), lies on the southern shore of that bay, which is called the Baie d'Ahuréi. A smaller village, 'Area, is located on the northern shore of the bay. The people are Polynesian. Former times' warfare is indicated by 28 extant ridgetop forts. Today Rapa is home to the Tahitian Choir, in which a third of the island's population sing traditional songs. Although sometimes considered part of the Austral Islands, Rapa Iti and the Bass Islands have a different geological, linguistic and cultural history. History Rapa Iti was first settled by Polynesians, most likely in the 12th century. Their Polynesian dialect developed into what is today the Rapa language over the centuries. It is believed that the depletion of natural resources on the island resulted in warfare, and the inhabitants lived in up to 14 fortified settlements (pa or pare, a type of fort; compare the Māori pā) on peaks and clifftops. It is considered that the oldest of these is Morongo Uta, which was developed . The first European to visit Rapa Iti was George Vancouver on 22 December 1791; he named the island Oparo. Contact with Europeans brought liquor and disease, and between 1824 and 1830 over three quarters of the natives died. Peruvian slavers raided the island as well. When a handful of their victims were returned to the island, they brought with them smallpox, which caused an epidemic. In 1826, there were almost 2000 inhabitants;