Lifou

Lifou is a commune of France in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean.GeographyLifou is made up of Lifou Island, the largest and most heavily populated of the Loyalty Islands, its smaller neighbour Tiga Island, and several uninhabited islets in between these two. All these islands lie among the Loyalty Islands, 190km to the northeast of New Caledonia's mainland. At 1146km2, Lifou Island is the largest atoll in the world.The town of Wé, on Lifou Island, is the administrative centre of the commune of Lifou as well as the provincial seat of the Loyalty Islands Province.GeologyLike Maré and Ouvéa, the other Loyalty islands, Lifou is made of fossil coral. Lifou is a makatea (raised coral atoll), an ancient lagoon slowly raised by geological processes. Due to the uplift, Lifou consists of a wide, flat centre surrounded by cliffs which correspond to the ancient reefal cliffs. The coral rock exhibits high porosity and hence, neither Lifou nor any of the other Loyalty Islands have surface water. It does, however, have a large freshwater reservoir which can be accessed through caves. These caves were used in the past when searching for fresh water, and are very important to the island's mythology.