KADAVU

also spelled Kandavu island of Fiji, in the South Pacific, 50 miles (80 km) south of Vitu Levu, across the Kadavu Passage. It was visited by the British naval captain William Bligh in 1792. Volcanic in origin, Kadavu has an area of 158 square miles (409 square km) and is bisected by a central mountain ridge with fertile slopes; it rises to 2,749 feet (838 m) at Ndelainambukelevu (Mount Washington). Timber from the forested central and eastern areas is milled at Naikorokoro, and cultivated crops include bananas and copra. The main town and capital on Kadavu is Vunisea, on the northern coast. The population is almost entirely Melanesian. Pop. (1986) Kadavu and small adjacent islands, 9,805.