Geography of Niue
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Niue is a small, oval island in the South Pacific Ocean, to the east of Tonga. It has an area of 260 square kilometres, and a coastline of 64 km. It claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles, and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles. It is one of world's largest coral islands.
Climate[edit]
Niue's climate is tropical, modified by south-east trade winds. Cyclones pose a natural hazard.
| Climate data for Alofi | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 38 (100) |
38 (100) |
32 (90) |
36 (97) |
30 (86) |
32 (90) |
35 (95) |
37 (99) |
36 (97) |
31 (88) |
37 (99) |
36 (97) |
38 (100) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 28 (82) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
27 (81) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
27 (81) |
28 (82) |
27 (81) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26 (79) |
27 (81) |
26 (79) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
25 (77) |
26 (79) |
25 (77) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23 (73) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
21 (70) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 20 (68) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
14 (57) |
15 (59) |
13 (55) |
11 (52) |
11 (52) |
15 (59) |
15 (59) |
11 (52) |
17 (63) |
11 (52) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 261.6 (10.30) |
253.6 (9.98) |
305.6 (12.03) |
202.6 (7.98) |
138.2 (5.44) |
88.9 (3.50) |
96.4 (3.80) |
105.8 (4.17) |
102.4 (4.03) |
123.8 (4.87) |
145.5 (5.73) |
196.2 (7.72) |
2,018.4 (79.46) |
| Source: Weatherbase[1] | |||||||||||||
Terrain[edit]
The terrain consists of steep coastal cliffs made from limestone and a central plateau. The lowest point is at sea level, and the highest is an unnamed point near Mutalau settlement, at 68 m.
Natural resources[edit]
The island's natural resources are fish and arable land. Land use in 1993 was as in the following table:
| Use | Percentage of area |
|---|---|
| arable land | 19 |
| permanent crops | 8 |
| permanent pastures | 4 |
| forests and woodland | 19 |
| other | 50 |
Environmental issues[edit]
A current environmental issue is increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash-and-burn agriculture. Niue is a party to the following international agreements regarding the environment: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification. Niue has signed but not ratified the Law of the Sea agreement.
Boundaries[edit]
Niue has signed a treaty with the United States in which the parties delimited the east–west maritime boundary between Niue and American Samoa. Niue is south of American Samoa.
Extreme points[edit]
This is a list of the extreme points of Niue, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
- Northernmost point – unnamed headland north-west of Uluvehi
- Easternmost point – unnamed headland south-east of Liku
- Southernmost point – Limufuafua Point
- Westernmost point - Halagigie Point
References[edit]
- ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Alofi, Niue". Weatherbase. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
19°02′S 169°52′W / 19.033°S 169.867°W
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.
External links[edit]
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