GAZELLE PENINSULA

peninsula extending northeast from the island of New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific. It is about 50 miles (80 km) wide but tapers to 20 miles (32 km) at the isthmus joining it to the main part of the island. From coastal plains its surface rises as high as 7,999 feet (2,438 m) at Mount Sinewit of the central Baining Mountains. The area is actively volcanic (Mount Vulcan erupted in 1937) and therefore highly fertile. The peninsula is the most populous portion of the island (particularly on the east), the Germans having established their centre of settlement there late in the 19th century. Many copra and cocoa plantations along the coast ship their produce through the ports of Rabaul and Kokopo, both on Blanche Bay, and Keravat, on Ataliklikun Bay. These settlements are served by good secondary roads.