New Caledonia New Caledonia New Caledonia (; ) is a special collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. Locals refer to Grande Terre as "" ("the pebble"). New Caledonia has a land area of . Its population of 268,767 (August 2014 census) consists of a mix of Kanak people (the original inhabitants of New
New Caledonia rain forests could be extinct but many believe that it still persists. Both the New Caledonian owlet-nightjar and the New Caledonian lorikeet are believed to persist under similar circumstances. There are also another twenty or so endemic birds on the island, including the tool-using New Caledonian crow. See Endemic birds of New Caledonia for more details. The seashells from New Caledonia are in great demand by collectors. Biodiversity of New Caledonia Flannery, Tim (1994). "The Future Eaters". Grove Press, New York. New Caledonia rain forests The New Caledonia rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion, located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific.