Karkar Island
| Karkar Island | |
|---|---|
 Crater of Mount Uluman | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,839 m (6,033 ft)  |
| Prominence | 1,839 m (6,033 ft) |
| Coordinates | 4°39′S 145°58′E / 4.650°S 145.967°E |
| Geography | |
  Karkar Island Bismarck Sea, north of Papua New Guinea | |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | March 2014 |
Karkar Island is an oval-shaped
Geography
The land is covered with the volcanic
The latest eruptions on this island occurred in the 1970s. The 1974–1975 eruption produced a large volume of lava which covered almost 70% of the inner caldera's floor, while 1979 produced no lava flow,[1] but killed two volcanologists, Robin Cooke and Elias Ravian. The volcano erupted as recently as February 26, 2013.[citation needed]
The population of approximately 70,000 is mostly
A single road runs around the entire length of the island. Karkar Secondary School is the only high school. There is one hospital, Gaubin Hospital, known formally as the Edwin & Tabitha Tscharke Memorial Hospital, which is run by the
The two main exports from the island are cacao and coconuts, which can grow in the same soil due to vast height differences. Large plantations are generally family-owned.
History
The first recorded sighting by Europeans of Karkar Island was by the Spanish navigator
It was later visited by
During World War II, the Imperial Japanese occupied the island. The Australian 37th/52nd Battalion landed on 2 June 1944, to find that the Japanese had evacuated the island and Australian 5th Division troops landed on the island at Biu Bay and Kavilo Bay on 6 June 1944.
An excellent account of the history of Karkar Island, from the 1920s to the present day, is provided in the autobiography of Sir John Middleton Kt, OBE, My Life on Karkar Island, Papua New Guinea.[3]
Climate
Karkar island has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.
| Climate data for Karkar island (Kinim village) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.2 (86.4) |
30.1 (86.2) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.1 (86.2) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.1 (86.2) |
30.7 (87.3) |
30.6 (87.1) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.3 (86.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.6 (79.9) |
26.4 (79.5) |
26.4 (79.5) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.4 (79.5) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.6 (79.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.0 (73.4) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.1 (73.6) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.4 (72.3) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.9 (73.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 334 (13.1) |
330 (13.0) |
433 (17.0) |
387 (15.2) |
387 (15.2) |
280 (11.0) |
253 (10.0) |
200 (7.9) |
217 (8.5) |
360 (14.2) |
321 (12.6) |
359 (14.1) |
3,861 (151.8) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[4] | |||||||||||||
See also
Notes
- ^ "Karkar". www.mineral.gov.pg. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ^ Coello, Francisco "Conflicto hispano-alemán" Boletín de Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid, t.XIX. 2º semestre 1885, Madrid, p.317.
- ISBN 978-1-86333-3320.
- ^ "Climate: Kinim". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
References
- "Karkar Island". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
| Geographic | |
|---|---|
| Other | |