Taveuni Island
NASA Space Shuttle image of Taveuni. Top of image is NW.
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Fiji |
| Coordinates | 16°47′37″S 180°00′00″E / 16.79361°S 180.00000°ECoordinates: 16°47′37″S 180°00′00″E / 16.79361°S 180.00000°E |
| Archipelago | Vanua Levu Group |
| Adjacent bodies of water | Koro Sea |
| Area | 434 km2 (168 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 3rd |
| Length | 42 km (26.1 mi) |
| Width | 10–14 km (6.2–8.7 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,241 m (4,072 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Uluigalau |
| Administration | |
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Fiji
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| Division | Northern |
| Province | Cakaudrove |
| Largest settlement | Waiyevo |
Taveuni (pronounced [taβeˈuni]) is the fifth-largest island in Fiji, after Vanua Levu, Viti Levu, Ono-i-Lau, and Kadavu, with a total land area of 434 square kilometres (168 square miles). The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated 6.5 kilometres (4.0 miles) to the east of Vanua Levu, across the Somosomo Strait. It belongs to the Vanua Levu Group of islands and is part of Fiji's Cakaudrove Province within the Northern Division.
The island had a population of around 9,000, some 75 percent of them indigenous Fijians, at the 1996 census. Taveuni has abundant flora and is known as the 'Garden Island of Fiji'. It is a popular tourist destination. Tourists are attracted to the excellent diving opportunities, prolific bird life, bushwalks and waterfalls. Central parts of the island receive very high rainfall rates. Being volcanic in origin Taveuni's soils have supported the island's most historically significant industry, agriculture.
Taveuni is located at the northern end of the Koro Sea and is entirely the product of volcanic activity. Fiji's third largest island is separated from Vanua Levu by the Somosomo Strait. The island is between 10 and 14 kilometres (6 and 9 miles) wide and 42 km (26 mi) long, is the top of a dormant, elongated shield volcano which erupted from a northeast-southwest trending rift on the ocean floor. About 150 volcanic cones dot the island, including Uluigalau, Fiji's second highest peak at 1,241 metres (4,072 feet), and Des Vœux Peak, next in height at 1,195 metres (3,921 feet). There have been at least 58 volcanic eruptions since the first human settlement around 950-750 BC, all of which affected the southern two-thirds of the island. Major eruptions from 300–500 AD caused abandonment of the southern areas until about 1100 AD. The latest eruption produced a lava flow at the southern tip of the island around 1550. The island's central ridge delineates the greatest volcanic activity surrounding volcanic vents.
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Wikipedia