Polynesia comprises a diverse set of islands lying within a triangular area having corners at New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, and Easter Island. French Polynesia is at the center of the triangle, 15 degrees south latitude and longitude 140 degrees west, and includes 118 islands and atolls.
The five archipelagoes of French Polynesia include four volcanic island chains (the Society Islands, the Marquesas, the Gambiers, and the Australs) and the low-lying atolls of the Tuamotus. The mountainous volcanic islands contain fertile soils along their narrow coastal strips. The atolls have little soil and lack a permanent water supply. Permanent pasture covers 5 percent of French Polynesia, and 6 percent of the land is used for permanent crops. Agricultural products raised include coconuts, vegetables, fruits, vanilla, poultry, beef, and dairy products. Coconut products and vanilla are exported. Thirteen percent of the population is involved in agriculture. On Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, less than 10 percent of the land is arable. Exports include vanilla and coffee, but the main export from French Polynesia is pearls.
Samoa is a chain of seven islands lying several thousand miles to the west of Tahiti. Collectively, the islands are almost the size of Rhode Island, and they are covered with rugged mountains with a narrow coastal plain. Approximately 24 percent of the land sustains crops of bananas, taro, yams, and coconuts. Taro is a crop that can be used in land reclamation by building mud ridges or mounds in swampy ponds between the beach rampart and the foothills. Coconuts grown on the island are processed into creams and copra for export.
Tuvalu is a group of nine coral atolls located almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia. The soil is poor on these islands, and there are no streams or rivers. Water is captured in catchment systems and put into storage. Islanders live by subsistence farming and fishing. Coconut farming allows the islanders to export copra.
The Cook Islands comprise a combined area almost the size of Washington, D.C. Located halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, the northern islands are primarily low coral atolls, and the southern Cook Islands are hilly volcanic islands. Permanent crops occupy about 13 percent of the land; 29 percent of the labor force is involved in agriculture. The Cook Islands produce a wide diversity of crops, including pineapple, tomatoes, beans, papayas, bananas, yams, taro, coffee, and citrus fruits. Agriculture is an important part of the economy, and copra, fresh and canned citrus fruit, and coffee are major exports.
The Hawaiian Islands are a volcanic chain of more than 130 islands, centered near 25 degrees north latitude and longitude 160 degrees west. Hawaii, with more than one million people, has the largest population in the Polynesian Island group. Lanai, one of the seven largest islands in Hawaii, is privately owned, and almost all its cultivated land is planted in pineapples. There are more than fifty-five hundred farms in Hawaii, and more than forty crops are grown commercially.
Because of the absence of adequate water on some sides of the Hawaiian Islands, water is brought through aqueducts from the wet sides of the islands to the dry sides, and then kept in lined reservoirs to be used for irrigation, ranching, and tourism. Sugarcane requires enormous amounts of water to grow, and most pineapple crops are grown under irrigation. Hawaii is the second-largest producer of macadamia nuts in the world. The islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, and Oahu produce 7.6 million pounds of green coffee a year. Hawaii is also a prime producer of pineapple, cane from sugar, greenhouse and nursery plants, and dairy products. The main exports are fruits, coffee, and nuts.
See also: Melanesian Islands, Micronesian Islands
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