A century of mining has stripped four-fifths of the total land area. The island is surrounded by a coral reef, exposed at low tide and dotted with pinnacles. The reef is bounded seaward by deep water, inside by a sandy beach.
Coral cliffs surround the central plateau.
The climate is tropical, with sea breezes. North-east trade winds blow from March to October. The monsoon season is November to February. The only fertile areas are the narrow coastal belt, where there are coconut palms, pandanus trees and indigenous hardwoods such as the tomano tree, and the land surrounding Buada lagoon, where bananas, pineapples and some vegetables are grown. Some secondary vegetation grows over the coral pinnacles.