Geography of New Caledonia point is Mont Panié at elevation. The total area of New Caledonia is , of those being land. A territorial dispute exists with regard to the uninhabited Matthew and Hunter Islands, which are claimed by both France (as part of New Caledonia) and Vanuatu. The New Caledonian archipelago is a microcontinental island chain which originated as a fragment of Zealandia, a nearly submerged continent or microcontinent which was part of the southern supercontinent of Gondwana during the time of the dinosaurs. The Grande Terre group of New Caledonia, with Mont Panié at as its highest point, is the most elevated
Biodiversity of New Caledonia while 27 are considered extinct. The Gymnosperms are more common on exposed ridges or next to rivers or creeks in floodplains. Their concentration is important at individual locations which provide lifesaving refugia, because environmental conditions make interspecific competition less severe. Four genera, "Araucaria", "Libocedrus", "Prumnopitys" and "Retrophyllum" that populate the subantarctic Pacific, have endemic species in New Caledonia. The genus "Acmopyle" (Podocarpaceae), currently present in New Caledonia and Fiji, is a fossil in Patagonia. There are 13 endemic species of "Araucaria", including "A. rulei" and "A. columnaris". The island shares some "Araucaria" species with Australia's Norfolk Island. Many, if not