Noumea : a study in social geography

Abstract

Noumea, with a population of almost 30,000, is the chief town in New Caledonia; it stands on a small peninsula which runs some 9 or 10 kilometres southwards from the mainland, and which ends in the 130 metre high Quen Toro. It is an irregular peninsula, with a very broken coastline, a number of off-shore islands, and pronounced relief. It comprises two main geological formations; in the northern and southern ends of the peninsula itself are beds of phtanite and calcareous rocks of the lower Eocene, interspersed in the north and on the Ile N'Gea to the east with some of the Jurassic coal measures. In between these two occurrences lies a belt of upper Eocene flysch and brecchia, which crosses the middle of the Presqu'ile Ducos, and takes in the area from Montravel and the Vallee du Tir over to Magenta. After the emergence of New Caledonia in the Oligocene, and after a further period of uplift, fairly intense dissection took place, followed by a partial submersion. This is a well-attested movement around the coasts of New Caledonia, and the Noumea region it is responsible for the indented configuration, and for the nearby islands. More recently a small amount of emergence has taken place, exposing a number of alluvial and beach deposits, especially near Anse Vata and Baie des Citrons in the south, and Magenta in the east. Show more