TAVEUNI

third largest island of Fiji, in the South Pacific. The island has an area of 168 square miles (435 square km). It lies off the southeast coast of Vanua Levu and was sighted by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1643. Volcanic in origin, it has a central mountain ridge that culminates in Uluinggalau (4,072 feet ). The chief village is Somosomo on the western coast. Copra is the chief product. Most inhabitants are Melanesian. Pop. (1986) including a small part of adjacent Vanua Levu, 11,050.