Koumac () is a
commune in the
North Province of
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, an overseas territory of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
.
History
On 5 January 1977 about 46% of the territory of Koumac was detached and became the commune of
Poum
The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (, POUM; , POUM) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War. It was formed by the fusion of the Trotskyism, Tro ...
.
The town of Koumac serves as a regional centre for the far north region of Grande Terre island. It has good connections north and south by road, and several shops, industrial suppliers, and utilities. It is a centre for mining employment, formerly dominated by the mine at
Tiébaghi which closed in 1990, and other current operations.
Koumac Airport
Koumac Airport is an airport in Koumac, New Caledonia .
History
The airstrip was expanded during World War II in order to support a fleet of B-17 bombers by the 810th American aviation battalion, which was one of the first two all-black enginee ...
is located a couple kilometres north of the commune with regular flights to Nouméa.
Climate
Koumac has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Aw''), although there is still some rain in the dry season which peaks between July and October.
Famous people
Athlete
Arnjolt Beer was born here.
References
Communes of New Caledonia
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