Landforms of Vanuatu
Located north of New Zealand and east of Australia, the archipelago nation of Vanuatu is a tourist destination frequented both by cruise ship passengers in for a quick stop and more intrepid travelers who venture to the largely untouched destinations beyond the main ports. Vanuatu's landforms largely are what you would expect from a tropical South Pacific nation: sandy beaches, jungles and coral reefs teeming with aquatic life. The nation's numerous active volcanoes also give visitors a rare close-up look at the inner earth's fury.
Vanuatu is made up of 83 islands, mostly mountainous and volcanic, and many of them tiny and uninhabited. The most populous is Efate, home to Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, and the largest is Espiritu Santo, with an area of more than 1,500 square miles. Of the inhabited islands, the forested Aneityum is the farthest to the south, and the Banks and Torres island group is the farthest to the north. Other islands of note to tourists include the rugged Malekula Island; Epi Island, an island of lush rain forest surrounded by sandy coves; Tanna, which has an active volcano; and Pentecost Island, home to the perilous land-diving ritual, in which natives leap from a tall tower with only a vine tied to their legs for support.
Vanuatu sits directly on the Ring of Fire, the belt surrounding the Pacific Ocean that is the source of most of the world's earthquakes and volcanic activity. As such, volcanoes are some of Vanuatu's most striking landforms. The chain is home to nine active volcanoes, two of which are undersea. Tanna's Mount Yasur is among the world's most accessible active volcanoes. A guided walking tour through the craters takes only about 15 minutes. Both Mount Manaro on Ambae Island and Gaua Island's Mount Garet boast crater lakes and colorful scenery. You can admire other volcanoes from a farther distance, including the Benbow and Marum cones on Ambrym, near Efate, and Lopevi, a volcano that sticks out from the ocean.
Vanuatu's coastline varies between rugged, rocky terrain and sandy beaches. Many of the beaches on Efate have been built up with resorts, but beaches on the less populous islands remain largely pristine. Offshore, you'll find coral reefs and caves, providing ample scenery for snorkelers and divers. Espiritu Santo in particular attracts divers and snorkelers with its offshore reefs and caverns, as well as a few shipwrecks, and the island also is home to the white sand Champagne and Lonnoc beaches. For a different terrain, Epi Island's beach at Lamen Bay has a mix of volcanic black sand and white coral sand, and shallow offshore coral.
Much of the interior of Vanuatu's islands are rocky jungles, boasting some stunning landforms. On Espiritu Santo, one frequent stop for tourists is its inland "blue holes," freshwater springs that bubble up through deep pits in the rocks. The island is home to Vanuatu's highest point, Mount Tabwemasana, which stands at just under 6,200 feet. Springs and waterfalls are common in the islands' interiors, including on Efate, Tanna and particularly on Vanua Lava, part of the rainy Banks and Torres group. Inland Aneityum has a slightly different terrain than the other islands, with a bushier landscape and orchid-laden forest.
- Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images