Yasawa Islands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yasawa Islands
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| Islands of Fiji
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The Yasawa Group is an archipelago of about 20 volcanic islands in the Western Division of Fiji, with an approximate total area of 135 square kilometers.
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[edit] Geography
The Yasawa group consists of six main islands and numerous smaller islets. The archipelago, which stretches in a north-easterly direction for more than 80 kilometers from a point 40 kilometers north-west of Lautoka, is volcanic in origin and very mountainous, with peaks ranging from 250 to 600 meters in height. The only safe passage for shipping is between Yasawa Island (the largest in the archipelago, about 22 kilometers long and less than a kilometer wide) and Round Island, 22 kilometers to the north-east.
[edit] Economy and culture
Tourism is growing in importance. Permission is required to visit all islands in the group except Tavewa. The home of the Tui Yasawa, the Paramount Chief of the Yasawa Islands, is at Yasawa-i-Rara, on Yasawa Island, but the largest village is Nabukeru.
Nanuya Levu, also known as Turtle Island, is one of Fiji's most famous resorts. This privately owned island was the locale for the 1980 filming of the romance adventure film The Blue Lagoon.
[edit] History
The British navigator William Bligh first sighted the Yasawas in 1789, following the mutiny on the HMS Bounty. Captain Barber in the HMS Arthur visited the islands in 1794, but they were not charted until 1840, when they were surveyed and charted by a United States expedition commanded by Charles Wilkes.
Throughout the 1800s, Tongan raiders bartered for, and sometimes stole, the sail mats for which the Yasawa Islanders were famous. The islands were largely ignored by the wider world, however, until World War II, when the United States Military used them as communications outposts.
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[edit] External links
- WikiMapia has one or more wiki satellite maps of Yasawa Islands.
