Loyalty Islands
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The Loyalty Islands (French: Îles Loyauté) are an archipelago in the Pacific. They are part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose mainland is 100 km (60 miles) distant. They form the Islands Province, one of the three provinces of New Caledonia. They were named in the eighteenth century by the British merchant who discovered them; the name refers to the agreeable nature of the inhabitants.
The archipelago consists of six inhabited islands: Lifou Island, Maré Island, Tiga Island, Ouvéa Island, Mouli Island, and Faiava Island, as well as several smaller uninhabited islands and islets. Their combined land area is 1,981 km² (765 sq. miles). The highest elevation is at 138 m (453 ft) above sea-level on Maré Island.
The people of the Loyalty Islands are of mixed Melanesian and Polynesian heritage, with also a small European minority. They number 22,080 as of 2004 census. Several thousands more natives of the Loyalty Islands live in Nouméa (New Caledonia's capital) and in the mining areas of New Caledonia's mainland.
The chief export of the Loyalty Islands is copra.
The islands are part of the New Caledonia rain forests ecoregion.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Tourist guide of Loyalty Islands : discovery throught pictures, general informations, travel agencies, forum.
- Jane's New Caledonia Home Page: The Loyalty Islands
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