New Georgia

New Georgia, with a total size of 2,037 km2, is the largest of the Solomon Islands' Western Province islands and the world's 200th largest island. New Georgia is a volcanic island that is partially surrounded by a coral reef. Mount Masse, at an elevation of 860 meters, is the highest peak.

The island has a humid and tropical environment, and cyclones are common. New Georgia is densely forested, with mangroves growing in the marshy parts.

In 1999, the island's population was 19,312. The majority of the population lives on the south shore, while the largest community is Munda, which is located in the west. The settlement of Sege is located on the southeastern shore. Several Melanesian languages are spoken by the islanders. The 10 languages spoken on the island are from the New Georgia language family, which is a subgroup of the Northwest Solomonic languages within the Oceanic languages, an Austronesian language family.

Location: Western Province