Eons in the making, Mother Nature worked relentlessly to create a realm of aquatic wonder in the middle of the South Pacific: making volcanic hotspots that spewed molten lava; moving the Earth’s crust so seamounts could rise; sending in troops of coral larvae to attach on submerged rocks. The ensuing millennia brought erosion, massive waves, and cyclones that battered the high islands and reefs, depositing debris in shallow lagoons. Motus rose. Volcanoes sank. And the 118 islands and atolls of French Polynesia were born.