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
Walpole Island (New Caledonia) volcanic origin. During the last glaciation cycles, the island was submerged and rose several times, creating a coral capping. The island is bordered by eroding cliffs. On the eastern shore is a narrow plain. The island has no source of surface fresh water. Walpole Island (New Caledonia) Walpole Island (French: "Île de Walpole") is a small and uninhabited French island, east of New Caledonia in the South Pacific. Although it is geographically part of the Loyalty Islands, administratively it belongs to the Isle of Pines municipality of New Caledonia. There is evidence that the island had prehistoric inhabitants. Graves, shell