Geography and Environment of Samoa

Samoa is a group of volcanic islands in the heart of the South Pacific. Independent or "Western " Samoa lies halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand and just to the west of American Samoa. Samoa consists primarily of two major islands, Upolu and Savaii, which together make up an area of approximately 2,680 sq. km (115 sq. miles). The capital, Apia, sits on the northern coast of Upolu. Savaii is a few kilometers to the west of Upolu and slightly larger. The only other inhabited islands Manono and Apolima, are two small land masses in the Apolima Strait, which separates Upolu and Savaii. Many tiny uninhabited islands and a few lonely atolls comprise the remainder of the country. Lush forests of predominantly broadleaf evergreens, vines, ferns, and mosses cover the upland areas of the islands. The mountains of Upolu and Savaii are host to temperate forest vegetation, such as tree ferns, wild coleus and epiphytic plants (mosses and other nonparasitic creepers) and grasses. Banyan trees dominate the landscape at higher elevations. The tropical rainforests are both a source of food as well as a rich resource for natural medicine. Traditional healers use 75 plant species to treat up to 200 different types of diseases. Scrubland, marshes, pandanus forests and mangrove swamps cover the remainder of the island.

Detailed geography