Gaua
Sign in to saveGaua (formerly known as Santa Maria Island) is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers .
Key facts
- Islands.name
- Gaua
- Islands.local_name
- Santa Maria
- Islands.image_name
- Map-Gaua-Vanuatu.png
- Islands.image_caption
- Map of Gaua
- Islands.map_image
- Womtelo Map-Banks-Vanuatu 1000.png
- Islands.location
- Pacific Ocean
- Islands.archipelago
- Vanuatu, Banks Islands
- Islands.area_km2
- 330
- Islands.highest_mount
- Mount Gharat
- Islands.elevation_m
- 767
- Islands.country
- Vanuatu
- Islands.country_admin_divisions_title
- Province
- Islands.country_admin_divisions
- Torba Province
- Islands.country_largest_city
- Jolap
- Islands.population
- 2,491
- Islands.population_as_of
- 2009
- Islands.density_km2
- 7.5
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Geography
- Natural history
- Geology
- Wildlife
- Population and languages
- Economy
- Names
- History
- Gallery
- References
- External links
Gaua (formerly known as Santa Maria Island) is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers .
== Geography == thumb|180px|left|Location of the Torba Province|Torres and Banks Islands, in the north of Vanuatu. Gaua is the largest island, in the south of that area. Gaua is subject to frequent earthquakes and cyclones. The climate is humid tropical; the average annual rainfall exceeds 3500 mm. It has rugged terrain, reaching up to Mount Gharat (797 m), the peak of the active stratovolcano which lies at the center of the island. Its most recent eruption was in 2013. The volcano has a 6 × 9 km caldera, within which lies a crater lake, known as Lake Letas, which is the largest lake in Vanuatu. To the east of the lake is Siri Waterfall (120 m drop).