Belep
Belep | |
|---|---|
Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia | |
Location of Belep | |
| Coordinates: 19°45′00″S 163°40′00″E / 19.75°S 163.6667°E | |
| Country | France |
| Sui generis collectivity | New Caledonia |
| Province | North Province |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Jean-Baptiste Moilou |
Area 1 | 69.5 km2 (26.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2019 census) | 867 |
| • Density | 12/km2 (32/sq mi) |
| Ethnic distribution | |
| • 2019 census | Kanaks 98.5% Europeans 0.12% Mixed 1.04% Other 0.23% |
| Time zone | UTC+11:00 |
| INSEE/Postal code | 98801 /98811 |
| Elevation | 0–283 m (0–928 ft) (avg. 20 m or 66 ft) |
| 1 New Caledonia Land Register (DITTT) data, which exclude lakes and ponds larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers. | |
Belep (French pronunciation: [belɛp]; sometimes unofficially spelled Bélep) is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It has almost 900 people living on 70 km2.
The commune's territory is made up of the Belep Islands (also known as the Belep Archipelago), which lie to the north of New Caledonia's main island (Grande Terre). The two principal islands in the Belep Archipelago are Art Island (a.k.a. Aar) and Pott Island fr (a.k.a. Phwoc). The rest of the archipelago consists of the Northern and Southern Daos Islands, and several very small islets.
The administrative centre of the commune is the settlement of Waala, on Art Island, the largest of the Belep Islands. The local language is Nyêlâyu.