New Caledonia

Did you know?

• 🌊A special overseas territory of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, rich in unique flora and marine life.
• 🏳️What does its flag mean? New Caledonia officially uses two flags flown side-by-side: the French Tricolor and the FLNKS Kanak flag. On the Kanak flag, the blue stripe represents the sky and the ocean surrounding the island, the green stripe symbolizes the land, vegetation, and ancestors, and the red stripe represents unity and the blood shed by the indigenous Kanak people. A yellow disc holds a traditional wooden roof spear (flèche faîtière) adorned with a tutelary shell, a symbol of Kanak homes and authority, representing the sun.
• 🐠World-class lagoon: New Caledonia boasts one of the largest double-barrier coral reefs on Earth, encircling a UNESCO World Heritage lagoon covering over 24,000 square kilometers.
• 🔋Nickel powerhouse: The archipelago holds around 10–20% of the entire planet's known nickel reserves, making mining the backbone of its local economy.
• 🌲Living fossil trees: New Caledonia is home to the famous Araucaria columnaris (Coral Reef Pines) and prehistoric plant species that survived from the time of the Gondwana supercontinent.