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The Loyalty Islands ((フランス語:Îles Loyauté)) are an archipelago in the Pacific. They are part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose mainland is away. They form the Loyalty Islands Province (''province des îles Loyauté''), one of the three provinces of New Caledonia. It has 17,000 people living on almost 2,000 km2. The native inhabitants are the Kanak people and the Tavu'avua' people. The first Western contact on record is attributed to British Captain William Raven of the whaler ''Britannia'', who in 1793 was on his way from Norfolk Island to Batavia. It is very likely, however, that the discovery and name goes back to the London ship ''Loyalty'' (also ''Loyalist'', Jethro Daggett master), on a South Sea trading voyage from 1789 till 1790. ==Geography== The archipelago consists of six inhabited islands: Lifou Island, Maré Island, Tiga Island, Ouvéa Island, Mouli Island, and Faiava Island, as well as several smaller uninhabited islands and islets. Their combined land area is . The highest elevation is at above sea-level on Maré Island. Loyalty Islands Province is divided into three communes (municipalities): *Lifou (comprises Lifou Island, Tiga Island, and several islets) *Maré (comprises Maré Island and Dudun Island) *Ouvéa (comprises Ouvéa Island, Mouli Island, Faiava Island, and several nearby islands and islets) *Walpole Island is geographically part of the Loyalty Islands, but administratively part of the commune of Île des Pins, South Province. The people of the Loyalty Islands are of mixed Melanesian and Polynesian ancestry, with a small European minority. They numbered 17,436 at the 2009 census, a 7.9% reduction from the 22,080 as at the preceding 2004 census. Several thousands more natives live in Nouméa (New Caledonia's capital) and in the mining areas of New Caledonia's mainland. The chief export of the Loyalty Islands is copra. The islands are part of the New Caledonia rain forests ecoregion. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Loyalty Islands」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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