New Caledonia

Location	Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
Geographic coordinates	21 30 S, 165 30 E
Map references	Oceania
Area	total: 18,575 sq km land: 18,275 sq km water: 300 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	2,254 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid
Terrain	coastal plains with interior mountains
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m
Natural resources	nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper
Land use	arable land: 0.32% permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.46% (2005)
Irrigated land	100 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards	cyclones, most frequent from November to March volcanism: Matthew and Hunter Islands are historically active
Environment - current issues	erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires
Geography - note	consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls