Geography of New Caledonia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Caledonia is a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, to the east of Australia, in Oceania. New Caledonia has a total area of 19,060 km², of which 485km² is water. The islands have a coastline of 2,254 km and New Caledonia's maritime claims are an exclusive fishing zone of 200 nm, with a territorial sea of 12 nm.
The climate of New Caledonia is tropical, modified by southeasterly trade winds. It is hot and humid. Natural hazards are posed in New Caledonia by cyclones, which occur most frequently between November and March.
The terrain consists of coastal plains, with mountains in the interior. The lowest point is the Pacific Ocean, with an elevation of 0 m, and the highest is Mont Panie, with an elevation of 1,628 m (5,341 ft). As of 1993, 12% of New Caledonian land is used for permanent pasture, with 39% occupied by forests and woodland. As of 1991, 160 km² of the land is irrigated. A current environmental issue is erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires.
Natural resources of the islands include: nickel, chromium, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead and copper.
[edit] References
This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.
|
|||||||||||||||||
