AOBA

also spelled Oba, volcanic island of Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 30 miles (50 km) east of Espiritu Santo. Its 154-square-mile (399-square-kilometre) area is dominated by a 4,500-foot (1,400-metre) peak with a lake in its crater, which was last active about 1870. The headquarters of the Melanesian church is located at Lolowai, a good harbour on the east coast. The island has a hospital and airstrips and exports copra. Pop. (1979) 7,819.