New Caledonia is a sui generis collectivity of overseas France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, south of Vanuatu, about 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia, and 17,000 km (11,000 mi) from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. French people, especially locals, call Grande Terre "Le Caillou".
The geography of New Caledonia (Nouvelle-Calédonie), an overseas collectivity of France located in the subregion of Melanesia, makes the continental island group unique in the southwest Pacific. Among other things, the island chain has played a role in preserving unique biological lineages from the Mesozoic. It served as a waystation in the expansion of the predecessors of the Polynesians, the Lapita culture. Under the Free French it was a vital naval base for Allied Forces during the War in the Pacific.
New Caledonia is a major source for nickel and contains roughly 10% of the worlds known nickel supply. The islands contain about 7,100,000 tonnes of nickel. With the annual production of about 107,000 tonnes in 2009, New Caledonia was the world's fifth largest producer after Russia (266,000), Indonesia (189,000), Canada (181,000) and Australia (167,000). In recent years, the economy has suffered because of depressed international demand for nickel due to the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. Only a negligible amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, the substantial financial support from France and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. In the 2000s, large additions were made to nickel mining capacity. The Goro Nickel Plant is expected to be one of the largest nickel producing plants on Earth. This plant produces an estimated 20% of the global nickel supply. However, the need to respond to environmental concerns over the country's globally recognized ecological heritage, may increasingly need to be factored into capitalization of mining operations.
Nouméa is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city of Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks who work in one of the South Pacific's most industrialised cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour that serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.
Le Mont-Dore is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.
Grevillea humifusa, commonly known as spreading grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of the south-west of Western Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with long, trailing stems, divided lives with linear lobes and clusters of pink to pale red and cream-coloured flowers with a reddish, yellow-tipped style.
Grevillea asparagoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is dense, prickly shrub with deeply divided leaves, the end lobes linear and sharply pointed, and pink to reddish flowers with red styles.
Grevillea manglesii is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to an area around Perth in Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with divided leaves, with triangular or linear lobes, and clusters of cream-coloured or white flowers.
Cenchrus echinatus is a species of grass known by the common names southern sandbur, spiny sandbur, southern sandspur, and in Australia, Mossman River grass. It is native to North and South America.
Metrosideros operculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to New Caledonia. It usually grows as a shrub to 3 metres in height, or rarely as a small tree to 10 metres. Stems are square in section and covered with silky hairs. The stiff, pointed leaves have a slightly revolute margin and are linear to elliptic in shape. They are 12 to 40 mm long and 3 to 10 mm wide. White, pink or red flowers with 3 petals and between 50 and 120 stamens are produced in axillary inflorescences.
Beaupreopsis is a genus of plant in family Proteaceae, with just one species in the genus, Beaupreopsis paniculata. It is native to New Caledonia on the south of Grand Terre. Its habitat is from open maquis, to mountain area as low scrub, on a substrate of eroded ultramafic rocks.
Grevillea helmsiae, commonly known as Helms' grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub or tree with elliptic to narrowly egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base and small clusters of white to cream-coloured flowers with a green style.
Grevillea leucoclada is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a small area in the west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with divided leaves, the lobes further divided, the end lobes linear or tapered, and cone-shaped clusters of white to cream-coloured flowers.
Grevillea meisneri is a shrub in the family Proteacae. It is endemic to New Caledonia. It is a manganese accumulator.
Grevillea gillivrayi is a shrub or small tree in the family Proteacae. It is endemic to New Caledonia.
Grevillea nematophylla, commonly known as water bush or silver-leaved water bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is shrub or small tree with simple or pinnatisect leaves, the leaves or lobes linear, and branched, cylindrical clusters of cream-coloured flowers.
Grevillea brachystachya, commonly known as short-spiked grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy shrub with linear leaves and more or less spherical clusters of cream-coloured to greenish flowers.
Grevillea maherae is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is a densely-branched shrub with divided leaves with sharply pointed lobes, and clusters of pinkish red to maroon flowers with a red style.
Hugh Shaw MacKee previously known as Hugh Shaw McKee was a botanist who was born in Northern Ireland, but who collected in Australia and Oceania, and finally in New Caledonia, where together with his wife and other collaborators, he collected over 46,000 specimens.
Mining maquis is a type of shrubland biome. It forms on ultramafic rock as a result of forest cover retreat due to repeated wildfires. It is common on New Caledonia.
