New Caledonia

New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie; popular names: Kanaky, Le caillou) is a French territory made up of a main island and several smaller islands, in the southwest Pacific. It has a land area of 18,575.5 km² (7,172 sq. miles). The population at the 2004 census was 230,789 inhabitants. It has an Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of .nc. The capital and largest city of the territory is Nouméa.

Geography

Main article: Geography of New Caledonia

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New Caledonia is located around {{coor dm|21|30|S|165|30|E|type:country}} in the southwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,200 km east of Australia and 1,500 km northwest of New Zealand. The island nation of Vanuatu lies to the northeast.

Related Topics:
Pacific Ocean - Australia - New Zealand - Vanuatu

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New Caledonia is made up of a main island, the Grande Terre, and several smaller islands, the Belep archipelago to the north of the Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands to the east of the Grande Terre, the Île des Pins to the south of the Grande Terre, and the Chesterfield Islands and Bellona Reefs further to the west.

Related Topics:
Loyalty Islands - Île des Pins - Chesterfield Islands - Bellona Reefs

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The Grande Terre is by far the largest of the islands, and the only mountainous island. It has an area of 16,372 km² (6,321 sq. miles), and is enlongated northwest-southeast, 350 km in length and 50 to 70 km wide. A mountain range runs the length of the island, with five peaks over 1500 meters. The highest point is Mont Panié at 1,628 meters elevation (5,341 ft).

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New Caledonia contains about one-quarter of the world's nickel resources.

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Climate

New Caledonia lies astride the Tropic of Capricorn, between 19° and 23° south latitude. The climate of the islands is tropical, and rainfall is highly seasonal, brought by trade winds that usually come from the east. Rainfall averages about 1,500 mm yearly on the Loyalty Islands, 2,000 mm at low elevations on eastern the Grande Terre, and 2,000-4,000 mm at high elevations on the Grande Terre. The western side of the Grande Terre lies in the rain shadow of the central mountains, and rainfall averages 1200 mm per year.

Related Topics:
Tropic of Capricorn - Tropical - Rain shadow

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Ecology

Unlike many of the Pacific islands which are of relatively recent volcanic origin, New Caledonia is an ancient fragment of the Gondwana supercontinent. New Caledonia and New Zealand separated from Australia 85 million years ago, and from one another 55 million years ago, and New Caledonia still carries many unique and endemic plants and animals of Gondwanan origin. (see Biodiversity of New Caledonia and Endemic Birds of New Caledonia). The best known is a hen-sized bird, the Cagou or Kagu, which cannot fly, has a large crest, and a funny cooing, and whose song and image serves as an emblem. The Niaouli tree, which also grows in Australia and New Guinea, is of medical interest, as

Related Topics:
Gondwana - Endemic - Biodiversity of New Caledonia - Endemic Birds of New Caledonia - Kagu - Niaouli - Australia - New Guinea

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its sap gives gomenol, which smells like camphor and is used to treat head colds.

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Before the Europeans arrived, there was no mammal other than the roussette (aka flying fox), a big vegetarian bat, a local delicacy.

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The islands make up two terrestrial ecoregions, the New Caledonia rain forests on the Loyalty Islands, Ile des Pins, and the eastern side of Grand Terre, and the New Caledonia dry forests in the rain shadow on the western side of Grand Terre.

Related Topics:
New Caledonia rain forests - New Caledonia dry forests

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As the Europeans settled on the dry west coast and left the east to Kanaks, the political division maps the natural one.

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New Caledonia's freshwater ecology also evolved in long isolation, and the New Caledonia rivers and streams are home to many endemic species.

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The New Caledonia Barrier Reef, which surrounds the Grande Terre and the Île des Pins, is the second-largest coral reef in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef, reaching a length of 1500 km. The reef has great species diversity, is home to endangered dugongs (Dugong dugon), and is an important nesting site for Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas).

Related Topics:
New Caledonia Barrier Reef - Coral reef - Great Barrier Reef - Dugong - Green Sea Turtle

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