French Polynesia Geography
LocationOceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from South America to Australia
Geographic coordinates
15 00 S, 140 00 W
Area
total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,660 sq km
water: 507 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries
0 km
Coastline
2,525 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 0.82%
permanent crops: 5.46%
other: 93.72% (2001)
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Natural hazards
occasional cyclonic storms in January
Environment - current issues
NA
Geography - note
includes five archipelagoes (4 volcanic, 1 coral); 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
