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Grande Terre is the largest and principal island of New Caledonia, which is a territory of France.

Grande Terre
A satellite photo of the island taken by Terra/MODIS (24 September 2012).
Grande Terre
Grande Terre
Geography
ArchipelagoNew Caledonia
Area16,372 km2 (6,321 sq mi)
Administration
France
TerritoryNew Caledonia
Largest settlementNouméa
Demographics
Population268,000
LanguagesNew Caledonian languages, French

History


British explorer James Cook sighted Grande Terre in 1774 and named it "New Caledonia", Caledonia being the Latin name for what is now Scotland. The island's mountains reminded him of Scotland. Eventually, the name "New Caledonia" became applied to Grande Terre and its surrounding islands.

It was annexed by the French Empire and became a penal colony in 1853. Today, Grande Terre has about 268,000 residents.[1]


Geography


The largest settlement on Grande Terre is Nouméa, the capital city of New Caledonia. Locals refer to Grand Terre as "Le Caillou", the pebble.[2] The island has a fairly hot and humid climate, though varying as the south-east trade winds bring relatively cool air. Surrounding the island and especially to the north-west is the New Caledonian barrier reef.

The island is located roughly 1,300 kilometres (810 mi; 700 nmi) east of Australia.[3] Grande Terre is oriented northwest-to-southeast; its area is 16,372 square kilometres (6,321 square miles). It is nearly 400 kilometres (250 miles) in length and 50–70 km (30–40 mi) wide in most places. A mountain range runs the length of the island, with five peaks over 1,500 metres (4,900 feet). The highest point is Mont Panié at 1,628 m (5,341 ft) elevation. Grande Terre is one of the largest islands in the Pacific Ocean.[4]


Notes


  1. Tisdall, Nigel (2017-06-09). "New Caledonia: a slice of France in the South Pacific". Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  2. South Pacific handbook - David Stanley, p. 549, at Google Books
  3. "Grande Terre". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  4. "Field Listing :: Geography - note — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-19.


На других языках


[de] Grande Terre (Neukaledonien)

Die Insel Grande Terre ist die Hauptinsel und mit Abstand größte Insel Neukaledoniens, sie liegt im Korallenmeer.
- [en] Grande Terre (New Caledonia)

[fr] Grande Terre (Nouvelle-Calédonie)

La Grande Terre est l'île principale de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, dans la mer de Corail, une mer de l'océan Pacifique. Elle représente 88 % de l'ensemble du territoire de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Orientée du nord-ouest au sud-est, prolongée au nord par les îles Belep et au sud par l'île des Pins avec lesquelles elle forme l'arc ou archipel de la Grande Terre, elle forme un ensemble allongé de 400 km de long (du « bout du monde » à Poingam dans la commune de Poum à l'extrémité nord-ouest jusqu'au cap N'Dua à la limite entre le Mont-Dore et Yaté à la pointe sud) pour 64 km à son endroit le plus large (entre la presqu'île de Pindai dans la commune de Poya sur la côte ouest et Poindimié sur la côte est).

[it] Grande Terre (Nuova Caledonia)

La Grande Terre, che in francese significa "Gran Terra" (in canaco Tanah Besar), è l'isola maggiore dell'arcipelago della Nuova Caledonia, nel mar dei Coralli. Politicamente, fa parte della collettività d'oltremare francese della Nuova Caledonia.

[ru] Новая Каледония (остров)

Новая Каледония[1] (фр. Grande Terre) — самый крупный и главный остров архипелага Новая Каледония.



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