Fiji - Geography

Fiji is comprised of a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific lying about 4,450 km. (2,775 mi.) southwest of Honolulu and 1,770 km. (1,100 mi.) north of New Zealand. Its 322 islands vary dramatically in size. The largest islands are Viti Levu, about the size of the "Big Island" of Hawaii, and where the capital and 70% of the population are located, and Vanua Levu. Just over 100 of the smaller islands are inhabited. The larger islands contain mountains as high as 1,200 meters (4,000 ft.) rising abruptly from the shore.

Fiji encompasses some 332 islands and islets, about one-third of which are inhabited. The largest island Viti Levu, accounts for 57 percent of the land area and for over three-quarters of the population; Vanua Levu has another 30 percent of the land and 18 percent of the people. The distance from the northernmost to the southernmost islands is around 1,200 kilometers; that from the western to the eastern extremities is about 650 kilometers.

With an area of 10,389 square kilometers, Vitu Levu is the largest island in Fiji. Seventy-seven percent of Fijiís population [595,000 people in 1996] reside there. It is also in Viti Levu that Fiji's major cities, industries, and tourism facilities are located. Vitu Levu has four basic kinds of terrain: plateau, mountain, upland, and coastal. In the center of the island the Nadrau Plateau rises some 900 to 1,000 meters above sea level, covering about 130 square kilometers of dense and marshy forest. Two mountain ranges running north and south of the plateau form the major divide, and the northern range contains Mount Victoria, at 1,424 meters the highest point in Fiji. Other mountain ranges above 600 meters separate the island into four upland areas that are heavily dissected by rivers. The undulating coastal hills and lowland plains contain most of the population. Numerous meandering rivers — of which the longest is the Rewa River — and many coastal streams create a complex drainage system and offer excellent hydroelectric potential. Reef systems intersecting with those of nearby islands form barriers around most of the island, sheltering large expanses of coastal waters and making good anchorages, especially at Suva.

Vanua Levu, having several jutting peninsulas, is less regularly shaped than its larger neighbor to the south. The main mountain range forms one plateau and two tablelands that have many peaks over 900 meters. The plains are generally lower, less undulating, and drier than those of Viti Levu, and the rivers are smaller but about as numerous.

Two other large islands, Kadavu and Taveuni, are each about the same size at just over 400 square kilometers. Like the main islands and most of the far-flung island groups, they are of volcanic origin. Most of the Lau Group, however, consists of raised limestone structures scattered across some 114,000 square kilometers of ocean and shares more characteristics with Tonga than with Fiji.