Geography |
Papua New Guinea lies in the south-western part of the Pacific Ocean and covers a land area of 462 840 km2 between latitudes 0° and 12° S and longitudes 141° and 156° E. The country consists of the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, the Trobriand, Woodlark, d´ Entrecasteaux and Louisiade groups of islands, the Bismarck Archipelago with New Britain, New Ireland and Manus and the Buka and Bougainville islands of the Solomons.
The central core of New Guinea is a massive mountain chain with peaks up to 4 500 m (Mount Wilhelm 4 508 m), forming a natural east-west barrier. The mountain chain is made of a series of ranges divided by large fertile valleys at altitudes between 1 500 and 1 800 m. High rainfall is responsible for the many rivers, but most are navigable only in their lower parts. Exceptions are the Sepik River in the north and the Fly River in the south-west, both with extensive herbaceous grass swamps. South-western New Guinea is a flat land covered with dry evergreen forests.
The island regions also have prominent mountains but of much lower elevation. The highest peaks on New Britain are up to 2 438 m, on Bougainville up to 2 743 m and on New Ireland up to 1 871 m. These islands, with recently latent but still active volcanoes, have highly fertile soils where most of the agricultural activity and production of the country is concentrated.
The climate is moist and tropical except in the south-western and central southern areas. The south-western monsoon, which is hot and humid and brings most of the rain, occurs from December to May. High mountains and the insular nature of part of the country have a strong effect on the local climate. The central mountain chain is a rain shelter for the south-western part during the north-west monsoon and so this part is much drier and covered with savannas.
There is considerable variation in annual rainfall, ranging from 980 mm at Port Moresby to more than 5 000 mm in places in the central mountains, where rainfall occurs all year. Temperatures average about 30° C along the coast in the north and show a marked seasonal tendency southward. In the highlands, temperatures range between 9° and 32° C (with frost at higher elevations) and between 23° and 32° C at Port Moresby.
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.