Lifou Island, historically spelt Lifu or Lefu in English, and known as Drehu in the local language, is the largest, most populous and most important island of the
Loyalty Islands
The Loyalty Islands Province ( French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...
, in the
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
of
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
, an
overseas territory of France in the
Pacific Ocean
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 (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. With a total area of , Lifou is located east of Australia at .
Background
The first European to sight the island was Frenchman Dumont d’Urville in 1857.
It was soon after visited by whalers and traders, and became a destination for Protestant and Catholic missionaries to
proselytize
Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries.
Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...
the indigenous population. In 1864 the islands were annexed by France who in turn established it as an Aboriginal Reserve
as it was not believed suitable for extensive colonialization.
Administration
The island is part of the
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
(municipality) of
Lifou
Lifou is a communes of France, commune of France in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean.
Geography
Lifou is made up of Lifou Island, the largest and most heavily populated of the Loyalty Islands, its smaller neig ...
, in the
Loyalty Islands Province
The Loyalty Islands Province ( French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...
of New Caledonia. The administrative center of the commune is located at
Wé
Wé is a small town in the commune of Lifou, in the Loyalty Islands Province, New Caledonia. It is located on the east coast of Lifou Island
Lifou Island, historically spelt Lifu or Lefu in English, and known as Drehu in the local language ...
, on the east side of Lifou Island at Chateaubriand Bay. The local currency is the CFP Franc (French Pacific Franc).
Geography
![lifou island](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Lifou_island.jpg)
Irregular in shape, Lifou Island is long and 16 to 24 km (10 to 15 miles) wide. The island is flat with no hills or rivers, but has abundant vegetation, dense interior jungles, fertile soils, terraced cliffs and coral reefs.
Lifou Island is a former
coral atoll
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class (biology), class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important C ...
that was part of a submerged volcano. Nearly 2 million years ago, the island was
uplifted
''Uplifted'' is the second studio album by Nigerian singer Flavour N'abania. It was released on July 20, 2010, by Obaino Music and 2nite Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Jay Dey, Oloye, Stormrex, Waga Gee, Asemstone, M-Jay, ...
to its present shape and elevation, today it sits at a mere 60m above sea level at its highest point. Since there are no rivers on Lifou, the water comes from rain that seeps through the
calcareous soil
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...
and forms freshwater ponds.
Important Bird Area
The forested Wetr district, comprising the northern part of Lifou, has been recognised as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because it supports populations of
red-bellied fruit dove
The red-bellied fruit dove (''Ptilinopus greyi'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in lowland forest in New Caledonia, Santa Cruz Islands ( Solomons), and Vanuatu, and it is common in most of its range.
The red-bellied ...
s,
grey-eared honeyeater
The grey-eared honeyeater (''Lichmera incana''), also known as the dark-brown honeyeater, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family which is found in Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the south-west Pacific. It is sometimes known as the silver-eare ...
s,
New Caledonian friarbird
The New Caledonian friarbird (''Philemon diemenensis'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae.
It is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, ...
s,
New Caledonian myzomela
The New Caledonian myzomela (''Myzomela caledonica'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The species is sometimes considered to be conspecific with (the same species as) the scarlet myzomela of Australia.
It is endemic t ...
s,
fan-tailed gerygone
The fan-tailed gerygone (''Gerygone flavolateralis'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is found in New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The Rennell gerygone (''G. citrina'') of the Solomon Islands was formerly considered conspecific, bu ...
s,
South Melanesian cuckooshrike
The south Melanesian cuckooshrike (''Coracina caledonica'') is an uncommon species of bird in the cuckooshrike family.
It is found in New Caledonia, Bougainville Island, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The species is a large (32–37 cm) c ...
s,
long-tailed triller
The long-tailed triller (''Lalage leucopyga'') is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is found in New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The Norfolk Island subspecies of the long-tailed triller, the Norfolk triller, has becom ...
s,
streaked fantail
The streaked fantail (''Rhipidura verreauxi'') is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. ''Rhipidura verreauxi'' has precedence over ''Rhipidura spilodera'' (Dickinson & Watling 2006). It is found in Fiji, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. It ...
s,
Melanesian flycatcher
The Melanesian flycatcher (''Myiagra caledonica'') is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. The species is found on islands in Melanesia.
Taxonomy and systematics
It is closely related to the Vanikoro flycatcher. Alter ...
s,
large
Large means of great size.
Large may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics
* Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers
* Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (or ...
and
small Lifou white-eye
The small Lifou white-eye (''Zosterops minutus''), also known as the sulphur white-eye, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the island of Lifou in New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on th ...
s, and
striated starling
The striated starling (''Aplonis striata'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map ...
s.
Food
With its rich Pacific waters fish including crab, lobster, turtle are in abundance, along with typical raised animals such as goat, pig and chicken. Crops include coconut, banana, taro, sweet potato, yam and vanilla. While the French introduction of coffee stayed on.
Economy
Tourism is a major industry on the island. Chief exports include
copra
Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...
,
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
,
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the p ...
and
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
.
Culture
The term Kanak
is used for natives of the islands and their native language of the island is
Drehu
Drehu (; also known as Dehu, Lifou, Lifu, qene drehu) is an Austronesian language mostly spoken on Lifou Island, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. It has about twelve-thousand fluent speakers and the status of a French regional language. This sta ...
, with people descending from Melanesians and Polynesians.
With a total of 19 different tribes inhabiting the three Loyalty Islands, six of which are on Lifou.
The current traditional high chief of the island is
Evanes Boula, who is chief of 13 of the three islands tribes,
succeeding Henri Boula on 13 June 1999.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Islands of New Caledonia
Loyalty Islands
Important Bird Areas of New Caledonia