capital
Noumea
New Caledonia · Oceania
Score
105
Difficulty
1.00
Lit count
0
Verified count
0
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Human settlement in New Caledonia
About Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and indigenous Kanaks who work in one of the South Pacific's most industrialised cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour that serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.
History
The first European to establish a settlement in the vicinity was British trader James Paddon in 1851. Eager to assert control of the island, the French established a settlement nearby three years later in 1854, moving from Balade in the north of the island. This settlement was initially called Port-de-France and was renamed Nouméa in 1866. The area served first as a penal colony, later as a centre for the exportation of the nickel and gold that was mined nearby. From 1904 to 1940, Nouméa was linked to Dumbéa and Païta by the Nouméa-Païta railway, the only railway line that ever existed in New Caledonia. During World War II, the United States Navy built Naval Base Noumea and Nouméa served as the headquarters of the United States military in the South Pacific. The five-sided U.S. …
Geography
The city is situated on an irregular, hilly peninsula near the southeast end of New Caledonia, which is in the south-west Pacific Ocean. Neighbourhoods of Nouméa include: Rivière-Salée 6e km, 7e km, Normandie, and Tina Ducos peninsula: Ducos, Ducos industriel, Kaméré, Koumourou, Logicoop, Numbo, Tindu 4e Km, Aérodrome, Haut Magenta, Magenta, Ouémo, and Portes de fer Faubourg Blanchot and Vallée des Colons Doniambo, Montagne coupée, Montravel, and Vallée du tir Artillerie Nord, Centre Ville, Nouville, Quartier Latin, Vallée du Génie Anse Vata (Drubea: Ouata), Artillerie Sud, Baie des Citrons, Motor Pool, N'géa, Orphelinat, Receiving, Trianon, and Val Plaisance Nouméa features a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw) with hot summers and warm winters. …
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