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GEOGRAPHY OF FIJI
Fiji is located in Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. Its geographic coordinates are 18 00 S, 175 00 E. Geography: Fiji consists of 332 islands, approximately 110 of which are inhabited, and more than 500 islets
Area: total: 18,274 square kilometers; land: 18,274 square kilometers; water: 0 square kilometers; ranking compared to other countries in the world: 156. It is about slightly smaller than New Jersey. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Land Boundaries: total: 0 kilometers; Coastline: 1,129 kilometers; Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nautical miles; contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles; exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles; continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines.
Land Use: agricultural land: 23.3 percent (2018 estimate). Arable Land: 9 percent (2018 estimate); permanent crops: 4.7 percent (2018 estimate); permanent pasture: 9.6 percent (2018 estimate); forest: 55.7 percent (2018 estimate); other: 21 percent (2018 estimate). Irrigated Land: 40 square kilometers (2012). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Topography: mostly mountains of volcanic origin. Elevation: highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 meters; lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 meters.
Climate: tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation. Natural Hazards: cyclonic storms can occur from November to January
Islands
Ocean islands are basically divided into three types: 1) "low" coral and sand islands; 2) "high" islands (usually exposed peaks and ridge-tops of submerged mountains and volcanos); and 3) parts of the continental shelf. Some continental islands were mountains and hills along the coast during last Ice Age when ocean levels were lower.
Low islands or cays were formed on coral shoals from reef sediments. Atoll islands are low islands (See Below). Seabird dropping fertilize the soils of some of these islands, which allow scrubby forest to take root. Others are battered regularly by storms and are little more than shifting piles of sand. Some patches of sand are so low they disappear during low tide and lose their status as islands.
High islands generally have better soil and a better supply of water than low islands. Low islands support only a few species of plant because there little topsoil and this soil has a high salt content. Although they often have no visible water sources they often are positioned over water lenses that trap rain water and can provide fresh water through wells.
See Separate Article Islands: Types, How They Form, Features and Nations ioa.factsanddetails.com
International Environmental Agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
Image Sources:
Text Sources: CIA World Factbook, 2023; “Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume 2: Oceania,” edited by Terence E. Hays, 1991, Wikipedia, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.
Last updated August 2023