Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island country in Melanesia, located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of 3,955.5 km2 (1,527.2 sq mi) and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Malampa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country. It consists of three main islands: Malakula, Ambrym and Paama, and takes its name from the first syllable of their names. It includes a number of other islands – the small islands of Uripiv, Norsup, Rano, Wala, Atchin and Vao off the coast of Malakula, and the volcanic island of Lopevi. Also included are the Maskelynes Islands and some more small islands along the south coast of Malakula.
Northeast Malakula, or Uripiv-Wala-Rano-Atchin, is a dialect chain spoken on the islands of Uripiv, Wala, Rano, and Atchin and on the mainland opposite to these islands. Uripiv-Wala-Rano-Atchin is spoken today by about 9,000 people. Literacy rate of its speakers in their own language is 10–30%.
Tanna is an island in Tafea Province of Vanuatu.
Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu.
Malakula Island, also spelled Malekula, is the second-largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides, in Melanesia, a region of the Pacific Ocean.
The Central Vanuatu languages form a linkage of Southern Oceanic languages spoken in central Vanuatu.
Futuna is an island in the Tafea province of Vanuatu. It is the easternmost island in the country.
Epi is an island in Shefa Province, Vanuatu, at the north end of the Shepherd Islands.
Erromango is the fourth largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago. With a land area of 891.9 square kilometres (344.4 sq mi), it is the largest island in Tafea Province, the southernmost of Vanuatu's six administrative regions.
The Southern Oceanic languages are a linkage of Oceanic languages spoken in Vanuatu and New Caledonia. It was proposed by John Lynch in 1995 and supported by later studies. It appears to be a linkage rather than a language family with a clearly defined internal nested structure.
The Vanuatu national cricket team is the men's team that represents Vanuatu in international cricket. The team is organised by the Vanuatu Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1995 and was promoted to associate status in 2009. Vanuatu made its international debut at the 1979 Pacific Games, at which time the country was still known as the New Hebrides. The majority of the team's matches have come against other members of the ICC East Asia-Pacific region, including both at ICC regional tournaments and at the cricket events at the Pacific Games.
The Vanuatu petrel or Falla's petrel is a species of gadfly petrel. This little-known seabird was first scientifically described in 2001 based on six specimens taken in 1927 off Merelava, Vanuatu, and a single bird found ashore in 1983 in New South Wales, Australia. The first confirmed breeding locality was only discovered in 2009 on the island of Vanua Lava, Vanuatu, but based on reports by locals it is supposed to also breed on Merelava. The IUCN has not recognized the Vanuatu petrel as a species, but maintain that it as a subspecies of the very similar white-necked petrel, P. cervicalis, with the "combined" species considered vulnerable.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Funa was the second strongest tropical cyclone during the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season, causing heavy flood and wind damage to areas of Vanuatu. The third tropical cyclone and second severe tropical cyclone of the season to form to the west of 160°E, Funa formed from an area of disturbed weather within the monsoon trough northeast of Vanuatu on January 16, 2008. Steadily intensifying as it moved to the east and subsequently south, Funa reached peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph). However, the cyclone encountered unfavorable conditions as it progressed further south, before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone on January 21.
HMS Torch was an Alert-class sloop of the Royal Navy, built at Sheerness Dockyard and launched in 1894. She served in Australia and New Zealand and was transferred to New Zealand as a training ship in 1917, being renamed HMS Firebrand at the same time. She was sold in 1920 and converted to a refrigerated ship with the new name Rama. She ran aground in the Chatham Islands in 1924 and was abandoned.
Tomman Island is a small island just off the southwest coast of Malakula in Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean.
Akhamb Island is a small island just off the southcoast of Malakula in Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean.
Uripiv Island is a small inhabited island in Malampa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. Uripiv lies off the north coast of Malekula Island. The estimated terrain elevation above the sea level is some 8 meters.
