 The name is believed to come from "Mawuti", contraction of the Arabic جزيرة الموت "Jazīrat al-Mawt" – meaning "island of death" (maybe due to the dangerous reefs circling the island) and corrupted to "Mayotta" in Portuguese, later turned into French.However, the local name is "Mahore", and the Arabic etymology is doubtful.The main island, Grande-Terre (or Maore), geologically the oldest of the Comoro Islands, is long and wide, and its highest point is Mount Benara, at above sea level.