| Koro Sea | |
|---|---|
 Fiji map showing Koro Sea and Koro Island | |
  Koro Sea | |
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 18°S180°E / 18°S 180°E |
| Type | Sea |
| Basin countries | Fiji |
| Surface area | 58,000 km2 (22,000 sq mi) |
| Max. depth | 9,613 ft (2,930 m) [1] |
The Koro Sea or Sea of Koro is a sea in the Pacific Ocean surrounded by the islands of Fiji. It is named after Koro Island.
The Koro Sea [2] [3] lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is surrounded by the more than 300 islands of Fiji, and is bordered by Viti Levu to the south, Vanua Levu and Taveuni to the north, Kadavu to the west, and the Lau Islands to the east. [4] [5] [6] [7] It is about 2,100 kilometres (1,300 mi; 1,100 nmi) north of Auckland, New Zealand. [8] It is named after the volcanic island of Koro, an island of the Fijian archipelago located in the northwestern part of the Koro Sea. [3]
The Koro Sea covers an area of about 58,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi; 17,000 sq nmi). It is relatively shallow: [9] its maximum depth is 2,930 metres (9,613 ft), and on average its northern and western portions are shallower than its eastern portion. The seabed is formed by heavy basaltic rocks characteristic of ocean basins. [10] Rocks, sandbars [7] and numerous coral reefs between the islands [10] occupy about 411 square kilometres (159 sq mi; 120 sq nmi) of the sea, [11] making navigation possible only through a few narrow passages in its central portion. [10]
The sea separates the two underwater platforms from which the Fiji Islands rise. An oceanic ridge that crosses the Nanuku Passage in the northwestern part of the sea connects the two platforms. [12] The region has a high level of seismic activity. [13]
The entire Koro Sea lies in the tropics. [14] Tropical air currents circulate over it all year round, although changes in air temperature with the change of season is documented. The trade winds predominate and tropical cyclones form in the warm season. [15]
The Koro Sea is part of the marine ecoregion of the Fiji Islands, which is included within the Central Indo-Pacific biogeographic region. [16] In the field of zoogeography, the benthic fauna of the continental shelf and the sandbanks of the islands up to depths of 200 metres (656 ft) also corresponds to the Indo-Pacific biogeographic region within the tropical framework [17] More than 300 species of hard corals, 1,500 of fish, and 7,000 of sea snails are found there. [6]
Passenger ferries provide periodical service from the Koro Sea to Ovalau Island. [18] The Nanuku Passage serves as a sea route for importing products into the Koro Sea region. [3]
Scuba diving and snorkeling are possible in the Koro Sea but are not widely practiced because of the difficulty of safe navigation of its waters. [6] [11]
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.
Fiji is a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, lying about 4,450 kilometres (2,765 mi) southwest of Honolulu and 1,770 km (1,100 mi) north of New Zealand. Of the 332 islands and 522 smaller islets making up the archipelago, about 106 are permanently inhabited. The total land size is 18,272 km2 (7,055 sq mi). It has the 26th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 1,282,978 km2 (495,361 sq mi).
Vanua Levu, formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located 64 kilometres to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of 5,587.1 square kilometres (2,157.2 sq mi) and a population of 135,961 as of 2007.
Kadavu, with an area of 411 square kilometres (159 sq mi), is the fourth largest island in Fiji, and the largest island in the Kadavu Group, a volcanic archipelago consisting of Kadavu, Ono, Galoa and a number of smaller islands in the Great Astrolabe Reef. Its main administrative centre is Vunisea, which has an airport, a high school, a hospital, and a government station, on the Namalata Isthmus where the island is almost cut in two. Suva, Fiji's capital, lies 88 kilometres to the north of Kadavu. The population of the island province was 10,167 at the most recent census in 2007.
Koro is a volcanic island of Fiji that forms part of the Lomaiviti Archipelago. The Koro Sea is named after this volcanic island, which has a chain of basaltic cinder cones extending from north to south along its crest. With a land area of 105.3 square kilometres (40.7 sq mi), the 5-by-10-mile island is the seventh largest in Fiji. Its latitude is 17.18° North; its longitude is 179.24° East. Its population as of the 2017 census was 2,830 spread across 14 villages on the island. Eight villages are in Mudu District on the east coast and six are in Cawa District on the west coast. A roll-on/roll-off ferry services Koro weekly from Suva and also connects Koro to Vanua Levu to the north. Fiji Link provides one scheduled flight per week to Koro, usually on Friday from Nausori Airport.
Ovalau is the sixth largest island in Fiji. It is located in Lomaiviti Archipelago. Situated at 17.70° South and 178.8° East,, the island is about 13 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide. It covers a total area of 106.4 square kilometers and has a population of around 9,100, approximately half of the population of Lomaiviti Province over the 1956–2007 period. Levuka, Fiji's former capital, is the largest of 24 towns and villages on the island, and is the only urban area in Lomaiviti. All settlements are coastal, except Lovoni in the interior of the island.
Monuriki is a small, uninhabited island situated off the coast of Viti Levu in the Fiji Islands, in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean. Monuriki is part of the Atolls islands, and related to a group of three islets in the larger group of islands known as the Mamanuca Islands. This coral and volcanic island is the smallest islet and the southernmost of a small group of three islets, west of Tavua.
The Western Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the eastern and central Indian Ocean. It is part of the larger Indo-Pacific, which includes the tropical Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia. The Western Indo-Pacific may be classified as a marine realm, one of the great biogeographic divisions of the world's ocean basins, or as a subrealm of the Indo-Pacific.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Gene was the deadliest storm as well as the most damaging tropical cyclone of the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season east of 160ºE. RSMC Nadi monitored Gene as the 12th tropical disturbance, as well as the fourth tropical cyclone and the third severe tropical cyclone to form west of 160ºE during the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season. Gene was also recognised by RSMC Nadi as the fifth tropical cyclone and fourth severe tropical cyclone to form within the South Pacific Ocean during the 2007-08 season.
The Central Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean, the eastern Indian Ocean, and the connecting seas.
The 1970–71 South Pacific cyclone season, in terms of severe tropical cyclones, was the least active season on record, with none of its six storms strengthening above Category 2 tropical cyclone intensity. It was a below average season, beginning late and ending early. The season officially began on November 15 and ended on April 30, but the first storm formed a month after that, on December 15.
The 1953 Suva earthquake occurred on 14 September at 00:26 UTC near Suva, Fiji, just off the southeast shore of Viti Levu. This earthquake had an estimated magnitude of Ms 6.8 and Mw 6.4. The earthquake triggered a coral reef platform collapse and a submarine landslide that caused a tsunami. Eight people were reported killed.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Sina was the only named tropical cyclone to develop within the South Pacific basin during the 1990–91 season. The system was first noted as a shallow depression within the South Pacific Convergence Zone to the west of Wallis Island. Over the next three days the system moved towards the west-northwest, before it was named Sina during November 24, after it had developed into a tropical cyclone. Over the next couple of days the system intensified further and developed an eye feature as it erratically moved towards Fiji. Sina subsequently peaked in intensity during November 26, before the system passed through the Fijian Islands over the next two days as it started to gradually weaken. Sina subsequently passed just to the north of Tongatapu in Tonga during November 29, before it passed about 160 km (100 mi) to the south of Niue and near the Southern Cook Islands during the next day. The system subsequently rapidly weakened and became an extratropical cyclone during December 1, before they were absorbed by an advancing trough of low pressure near 50°S on December 4.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Eric was one of two tropical cyclones to affect the island nations of Vanuatu and Fiji within a week during January 1985. The precursor shallow depression developed within the monsoon trough during 13 January, to the west of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. On 16 January, the storm developed-hurricane-force winds and Eric began to undergo rapid deepening. While two different agencies differ on when and how strong Eric was at its peak, it was believed to have peaked on 17 January while passing through the Fiji island group. Shortly after its peak, Eric began to weaken steadily, and by 20 January, Severe Tropical Cyclone Eric had ceased to exist as a tropical cyclone. Combined with another storm – Cyclone Nigel – Eric caused 25 fatalities and $40 million worth of damage. A total of 299 farms were affected as well as the airport in Nadi. About 30,000 people were left homeless. Severe crop damage was also reported. Viti Levu sustained the worst effects from Cyclone Eric. During the aftermath of the storm, a number of first world countries distributed aid for victims of Eric.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that became the most intense in the Southern Hemisphere on record, as well as the strongest to make landfall on record, and the most intense and longest lasting tropical cyclone worldwide in 2016. Winston was, at the time, the costliest tropical cyclone on record in the South Pacific basin, until it was surpassed by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. The system was first noted as a tropical disturbance on 7 February 2016, when it was located to the northwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu. Over the next few days, the system gradually developed as it moved southeast, acquiring gale-force winds by 11 February. The following day, it underwent rapid intensification and attained ten-minute maximum sustained winds of 175 km/h (109 mph). Less favourable environmental conditions prompted weakening thereafter. After turning northeast on 14 February, Winston stalled to the north of Tonga on 17 February. Due to a change in higher level steering, the storm drifted back to the west. In the process, Winston again rapidly intensified, reaching Category 5 intensity on both the Australian tropical cyclone scale and the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale on 19 February. The storm passed directly over Vanua Balavu, where a national record wind gust of 306 km/h (190 mph) was observed.
The following is a list of all reported tropical cyclones within the South Pacific Ocean to the east of 160°E after the start of World War II in September 1939 and before the start of the 1950s decade.
The Fiji tropical moist forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Fiji and Wallis and Futuna. It covers the windward sides of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, Fiji's largest islands, as well as the smaller Fijian islands and the three islands that make up Wallis and Futuna, an overseas territory of France. The drier leeward sides of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu are home to the distinct Fiji tropical dry forests ecoregion.
The Fiji tropical dry forests are a tropical dry forest ecoregion in Fiji. The dry forests occupy the leeward northwestern portion of Fiji's two largest islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Ana was one of three tropical cyclones to impact the island nation of Fiji towards the end of January 2021. The fifth tropical disturbance, third tropical cyclone and second severe tropical cyclone of the 2020–21 South Pacific cyclone season, Ana was first noted as Tropical Disturbance 05F during January 26, while it was located about 220 km (135 mi) to the northeast of Port Vila in Vanuatu. Over the next few days, the system moved eastwards and gradually developed further, before it was declared to be a tropical cyclone and named Ana during January 29. Over the next day, the system moved south-eastwards towards Fiji before it made landfall on the island of Viti Levu. After emerging into the Pacific Ocean, the system intensified into a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone, before it rapidly degenerated into a subtropical low during February 1.
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