Lagos initially emerged as a home to the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba of West Africa and later emerged as a port city that originated on a collection of islands, which are contained in the present-day Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, Amuwo-Odofin, and Apapa. The islands are separated by creeks, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon while being protected from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier islands and long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretches up to 100 km (62 mi) east and west of the mouth. Due to rapid urbanization, the city expanded to the west of the lagoon to include areas in the present day Lagos Mainland, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, and Surulere. This led to the classification of Lagos into two main areas: the Island, which was the initial city of Lagos before it expanded into the area known as the Mainland.^[25] It is also a metropolitan city. This city area was governed directly by the Federal Government through the Lagos City Council, until the creation of Lagos State in 1967, which led to the splitting of Lagos city into the present day seven Local Government Areas, and an addition of other towns from the then Western Region to form the state.