Papua New Guinea
Landforms
•new guinea highlands
•rainforests
•Papuan peninsula
•mount wilham is the highest point of Papua New Guinea at 14,793 ft.
•surrounded by coral reefs
•many active volcanoes
Climate
Plants and Animals
•diverse amount of species
•southern crowned pigeon (largest pigeon in the world)
•red-breasted Pygmy parrot (smallest parrot)
•monitor lizards
•almost 20,000 different types of plants
•rain forest plants
Natural Resources
•Gold
•copper
•silver
•natural gas
•timber
•oil
•fisheries
History
•Portugese and spanish explorers found New Guinea in early 16th century
•Queensland tried to annex the south-eastern part of New Guinea in 1883
•the southern coast of New Guinea was finally officially annexed in 1884 by Britain.
•1884 was also when Germany took control over the northeast quarter of the island.
•full independence wasn't established until 2001
People and Languages
•The main languages are Tok Pisin, English and Hiri Motu.
•there are four main ethnic groups: New Guineans, Papuans, Highlanders, and Islanders.
Land Use
•98% of land is natural vegetation/rainforests
•1.4% is used for permanent crops
•.6% is arable land