<!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->

The geography of Papua New Guinea describes the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, the islands of New Ireland, New Britain and Bougainville, and smaller nearby islands. Together these make up the nation of Papua New Guinea in tropical Oceania, located in the western edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Papua New Guinea is largely mountainous, and much of it is covered with tropical rainforest. The New Guinea Highlands (or Central Range) run the length of New Guinea, and the highest areas receive snowfall—a rarity in the tropics. Within Papua New Guinea Mount Wilhelm is the highest peak, at . There are several major rivers, notably the Sepik River, which is long, which winds through lowland swamp plains to the north coast, and the Fly River at in length, which flows through one of the largest swamplands in the world to the south coast. The Highlands consist of a number of smaller ranges running west to east, such as the Finisterre Range which dominates the Huon Peninsula to the north of the city of Lae. At it is the world's third largest island country. and shares a land border with Indonesia, and maritime borders with Australia, the Solomon Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The island of New Guinea lies at the east of the Malay Archipelago. The country is separated from Australia's Cape York Peninsula by the shallow Torres Strait. To the west of this strait is the shallow Arafura Sea, while to its east is the much deeper Coral Sea.

The total coastline is longer than , the largest fisheries zone in the South Pacific. The country covers two timezones, with the Autonomous Region of Bougainville an hour ahead of the rest of the country. Its mainland coastline is long. It lies where the north-moving Indo-Australian plate meets the west-moving Pacific plate. This has caused its highly variable geography both on the mainland and on its islands. Tectonic movement is also the origin of the country's active volcanos and frequent earthquakes. The country is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, with altogether 14 known active volcanos and 22 dormant ones. The Sepik river however is navigable for about half of its length. The 141° E meridian formed the entire eastern boundary of Dutch New Guinea according to its 1828 annexation proclamation. By the Treaty of The Hague (1895) the Dutch and British agreed to a territorial exchange, bringing the entire left bank of the Fly River into British New Guinea and moving the southern border east to the Torasi Estuary. In the Torres Strait it runs close to the mainland of New Guinea, keeping the adjacent North Western Torres Strait Islands (Dauan, Boigu and Saibai) under Australian sovereignty. Maritime boundaries with the Solomon Islands were confirmed by a 1989 treaty.

Including all its islands, it lies between latitudes 0° and 12°S, and longitudes 140° and 160°E.

The northernmost point is Mussau Island (1°23' S), southernmost point is Sudest Island (11°65' S), easternmost point is Olava, Bougainville (155°57' E) and the westernmost point is either Bovakaka along the Fly River border with Indonesia or Mabudawan (140°54' E).

Papua New Guinea has several volcanoes, as it is situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Volcanic eruptions are not rare, and the area is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis because of this. The volcanic disturbance can often cause severe earthquakes, which in turn can also cause tsunamis. Papua New Guinea is also prone to landslides, often caused by deforestation in major forests. The mountainous regions of Papua New Guinea are the areas most susceptible to landslides causing damage.

Offshore islands include the small, forested Admiralty Islands, the largest of which is Manus, to the north of the main island of New Guinea. These have a distinct plant and animal life from the main island but the natural forest has been cleared in places for logging and agriculture.

A 2019 global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were of tidal flats in Papua New Guinea, making it the 25th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.

Rivers

Soil

Soil quality and composition in Papua New Guinea is highly varied, however the tectonic activity in the country means the soils are relatively young.

On 25 February 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and depth of 35 kilometres struck the middle of Papua New Guinea. The worst of the damage was centred around the Southern Highlands region.

From March to April 2018, a chain of earthquakes hit Hela Province, causing widespread landslides and the deaths of 200 people. Various nations from Oceania and Southeast Asia immediately sent aid to the country.

Another severe earthquake occurred on 11 September 2022, killing seven people and causing damaging shaking in some of the country's largest cities, such as Lae and Madang, it was also felt in the capital Port Moresby.

On May 24, 2024, a landslide hit the village of Kaokalam in Enga Province, about 600 kilometers (372 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby, at about 3 a.m. local time. The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive, caused major destruction to buildings, and food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country. The casualty figure surpasses the 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide tragedy where a total of 1,126 people lost their lives as the debris flow from a landslide followed 10 days of heavy rain. With over 2,000 reported dead by the Papua New Guinea government, this disaster has now emerged as the deadliest landslide of the 21st century.

Climate change is leading to rising sea levels. It is expected that populations will soon be forced to move from some areas of Bougainville, such as the Carteret Islands. The wind generally blows southeast from May to October, and northwest from December to March. This drives overall rain patterns, however the large mountains and rugged terrain create local weather conditions and wide variations in annual rainfall. The area around Port Moresby receives less than per year, while some highland areas receive over . Lowland humidity averages around 80%, and the highest altitudes, especially of Mount Wilhelm and Mount Giluwe, can see snow.

Climate change is expected to alter the temperature and precipitation of the country, with implications for wildlife, ecosystems and agriculture.

Climate data

Human geography

thumb|450px|Papua New Guinea's cities, main towns, selected smaller centres, rivers and high peaks

Maritime claims:

These are measured from claimed archipelagic baselines.

  • Continental shelf:

: depth or to the depth of exploitation

  • Exclusive economic zone:

:. nautical miles

  • Territorial sea:

:12 nautical miles (22&nbsp;km)

Land use

Natural resources:

gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries

Land use:

  • arable land: 0.49%
  • permanent crops: 1.4%
  • other (forests, swamplands, etc.): 98.11% (2005 estimate)

Classifications of land use can vary considerably depending on the methodology and definitions used.

As of 1975, 69.5% of land was considered totally unused. This was mostly forest. 25.6% was cultivated to different extents, although half was at very low levels, including land left to fallow to the extent it may have secondary forest. The remaining 4.9% was uncultivated, including grassland and sago stands. It hosts 4.5% of known mammal diversity, and perhaps 30,000 vascular plant species. Different floral assemblages can be broadly delineated by altitude into lowland, lower montane, upper montane, and alpine. The official definition of "forest" as of 2014 is "Land spanning more than 1 hectare, with trees higher than 3 meters and the canopy cover of more than 10 percent", and these forests are officially classified into 13 natural types plus plantations. "Low altitude forest on uplands" makes up 31.30% of all forest, "Low altitude forest on plain and fans" 24.7%, and "Lower montane forest" 22.30%. Of all forest in 2018, over three-quarters was old-growth forest; 11.9% was heavily logged, and 0.2% had been logged at a small scale. 7.9% was affected by temporary farming or gardening.

The country is part of the Malesia biogeographical area, with its plant species more similar to those of East Asia than Australasia, although there are exceptions, especially at higher altitudes. with new species being regularly described. Different taxa have centres of endemism and diversity in different areas. For example, insect and lizard diversity is high north of the central mountain spine, marsupial, snake, and freshwater fish diversity is highest in areas south of the mountain spine such as the Fly lowlands, and frog diversity is generally highest in mountainous areas on the mainland and Bougainville (an exception being the highly diverse Huon peninsula). One notable feature in common for the two landmasses is the existence of several species of marsupial mammals, including some kangaroos and possums, which are not found elsewhere.

Three new species of mammals were discovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea by an Australian-led expedition in the early 2010s. A small wallaby, a large-eared mouse and a shrew-like marsupial were discovered. The expedition was also successful in capturing photographs and video footage of some other rare animals such as the Tenkile tree kangaroo and the Weimang tree kangaroo.

The large islands to the northeast are oceanic islands that have never been linked to New Guinea. As a consequence, they have their own flora and fauna; Islands lying between the mainland Huon Peninsula and New Britain provide an avenue for some migration. The small islands to the southeast were possibly linked to the mainland in the past, and have similar wildlife.

Nearly one-quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002, with around 15% being completely cleared.

Environment - international agreements

signed, but not ratified

  • Antarctic-Environmental Protocol

signed and ratified

  • Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Extreme points

Extreme points

  • Northernmost point – Sae Island 0° 45' 22 S, 145° 18' 33 E
  • Northernmost point (main island) – Sandaun Province 2° 36' 11 S, 141° 03' 26 E
  • Southernmost point – Vanatinai Rewe Point 11° 39' 17 S, 153° 33' 04 E
  • Southernmost point (main island) – Near Suau, Samarai-Murua District 10° 42' 08 S, 150° 12' 07 E
  • Westernmost point – Border with Indonesia, Western Province 6° 36' 45 S, 140° 50' 37 E
  • Easternmost point – Nukumanu Islands, North Solomons 4°34' 39 S, 159° 29' 33 E
  • Easternmost point (main island) – East Cape, Milne Bay 10° 13' 41 S, 150° 52' 39 E
  • Highest point – Mount Wilhelm:
  • Lowest point – Pacific Ocean: 0 m (0 ft)

See also

  • List of rivers of Papua New Guinea
  • List of volcanoes in Papua New Guinea
  • List of highest mountains of New Guinea
  • List of protected areas of Papua New Guinea
  • Ecoregions of New Guinea
  • Australia-New Guinea (continent)

References