Sigatoka Valley
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The Sigatoka River is in the island of
Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...
in
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
and has its source on the west side of Mount Victoria and flows for 120 kilometers to the coast between the central and western ranges. It is the chief means of transportation with some parts of the interior of the island. The
Sigatoka Sand Dunes The Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park is located at the mouth of the Sigatoka River on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. They are located approximately 3 km west of the town of Sigatoka. The dunes are the product of erosion in the coastal h ...
are at the mouth of the river, and the
Nadarivatu Dam The Nadarivatu Dam, also known as the Korolevu Dam, is a concrete gravity dam on the upper reaches of the Sigatoka River in Nadarivatu District of Nadroga-Navosa Province, Fiji. The primary purpose of the dam is to generate hydroelectric power in a ...
was completed in 2012 in its headwaters.


History

Sigatoka River was historically the only means of transport from the Fijian coast to the island's lush interior. The river provided locals for fisheries, as well as water for agriculture and drinking. During the
Colo Wars The Colo Wars was a series of skirmishes against the British occupation of Fiji in the 1870s, led by the Colo tribe. It was noted that even tribes fighting on the British side refrained from severely damaging Colo society, knowing the tribe wo ...
, the valley around the Sigatoka River became a bastion for hill tribes who resisted
British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...
. From 1912 to 1923, banana plantations in the Sigatoka River Valley suffered severe episodes of a fungal infection called ''
Mycosphaerella musicola ''Mycosphaerella musicola'' (or ''Pseudocercospora musae'',) is a fungal plant pathogen, which is the causal agent of Yellow Sigatoka leaf spot disease on banana plants. Characteristics Sigatoka leaf spot disease (SD) is a disease of bananas and ...
'', also known as the Yellow Sigatoka disease. Since 2006, the Sigatoka River is still used for jet-boat excursions in one of the world's first village safaris.


References

Rivers of Viti Levu {{Fiji-river-stub