new caledonia

• group of islands in the pacific ocean
new caledonia and dependencies is a territory of france in the south pacific, east of australia. the principal islands are new caledonia or grande terre, the loyalty islands, and the chesterfield islands. they were annexed by france in 1853. agitation for independence from france has been a source of civil unrest. new caledonia has the world's largest known nickel deposits. tourism is an important industry.