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Western Samoa
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WESTERN SAMOA ((西摩利亚)) lies in the south-central Pacific Ocean, some 1,800 miles (2,900 km) northeast of New Zealand, with a total land area of 1,093 square miles (2,831 sqkm). The population was estimated at 165,000 in 1990.
Western Samoa is part of the Samoan archipelago and consists of two major islands, Upolu and Savai'i. These are both high volcanic islands with fringing coral reefs.
The temperature varies from 22C between May and November, when the southeast trade winds blow, to 36C during the rainy season (November to March). Typhoons are a danger from January to March, the worst having struck the islands in 1889, 1966 and 1968.
The islands' volcanic soils are rich but porous and are easily exhausted. The mountainous island centres are forested with tall evergreen rain forest, coconut palm and pandanus. Mangroves thrive at lower elevations in swamps. Animal life is sparse, with only flying foxes and small bats, together with several species of lizards and two species of snakes of the boa family. Birds are more common.
Western Samoans are mainly Polynesian, closely akin to Tongans and to New Zealand's Maoris.(SD-Agencies)
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