Home > Geography of French Polynesia

Location:

Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from South America to Australia

Geographic coordinates:

15° 00′ S, 140° 00&prime W

Map references:

Oceania

Area:

• Total: 4,167 km² (118 islands and atolls)
• Land: 3,660 km²
• Water: 507 km²

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

2,525 km

Maritime claims:

• Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:

Tropical, but moderate

Terrain:

Mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Elevation extremes:

• Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
• Highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources:

Timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

Land use:

• Arable land: 1%
• Permanent crops: 6%
• Permanent pastures: 5%
• Forests and woodland: 31%
• Other: 57% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:

NA km²

Natural hazards:

Occasional cyclonic storms in January

Environment - current issues:

NA

Geography - note:

Includes five archipelagoes; Makatea in French Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru

See also: French Polynesia