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Walpole Island (New Caledonia)
Encyclopedia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
in the South Pacific. Although it is geographically part of the Îles Loyauté, administratively it belongs to the Île des Pins
Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
The Isle of Pines is an island located in the Pacific Ocean, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. The island is part of the commune of L'Île-des-Pins, in the South Province of New Caledonia. The Isle of Pines is nicknamed l'île la plus proche du paradis...
municipality of New Caledonia.
History
British captain Butler discovered the island in 1794 and named it after his ship Walpole.The island has been inhabited in the past, but in modern times is only visited by scientific naturalist research missions.
Geography
As the easternmost island of îles Loyauté arc, Walpole is located 180 km east of New CaledoniaNew Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
(168° 57' E, 22° 36' S). It is 4 km long North-South, and 0.5 to 1 km wide. The area is about 2.0 km².
Walpole is a coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
island of volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
origin. During the last glaciations cycles, the island was submerged and rose several times, creating a coral capping. The island is bordered by cliffs and erosion holes. On the Eastern shore is a small plain. There is no source of surface fresh water.