Geography
Samoa is located south of the equator, about halfway between Hawai‘i and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The total land area is 2,934 km² (1,133 sq mi), consisting of the two large islands of Upolu and Savai'i which account for 99% of the total land area, and eight small islets.
These are the three islets in the Apolima Strait (Manono Island, Apolima and Nu'ulopa), the four Aleipata Islands off the eastern end of Upolu (Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua, and Fanuatapu), and Nu'usafe'e (less than 0.01 km² - 2½ acres - in area and about 1.4 km (0.9 mi) off the south coast of Upolu at the village of Vaovai). The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population, and its capital city is Apia.
The Samoan islands have been produced by vulcanism, the source of which is the Samoa hotspot which is probably the result of a mantle plume. While all of the islands have volcanic origins, only Savai'i, the western most island in Samoa, is volcanically active with the most recent eruptions in Mt Matavanu (1905–1911), Mata o le Afi (1902) and Mauga Afi (1725). The highest point in Samoa is Mt Silisili, at 1858 m (6,096 ft). The Saleaula lava fields situated on the central north coast of Savai'i are the result of the Mt Matavanu eruptions which left 50 km² (20 sq mi) of solidified lava.
Samoa was previously located east of the international date line but in 2011, Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele announced his country would move the International Date Line to the east of the country, so that Samoa would lie to the west of the date line. This change took effect on the night of 29 December, so that the Friday was skipped altogether and the following day was Saturday 31 December.
The climate is equatorial/monsoonal, with an average annual temperature of 26.5°C (79.7°F), and a rainy season from November to April. Savai'i is the largest of the Samoan islands and the sixth largest Polynesian island after New Zealand's North, South and Stewart Islands and the Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui. The population of Savai'i is 42,000 people.
| Climate data for Apia | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 30.4 (86.7) |
30.6 (87.1) |
30.6 (87.1) |
30.7 (87.3) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.0 (86.0) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.6 (85.3) |
29.9 (85.8) |
30.1 (86.2) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.22 (86.39) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23.9 (75.0) |
24.2 (75.6) |
24.0 (75.2) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.2 (73.8) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.48 (74.27) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 489.0 (19.252) |
368.0 (14.488) |
352.1 (13.862) |
211.2 (8.315) |
192.6 (7.583) |
120.8 (4.756) |
120.7 (4.752) |
113.2 (4.457) |
153.9 (6.059) |
224.3 (8.831) |
261.7 (10.303) |
357.5 (14.075) |
2,965 (116.73) |
| Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN) | |||||||||||||
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