New Guinea is located seventy-five miles north of Queenland, Australia, in a region of the South Pacific known as Melanesia. It is the second largest island in the world, and has a population of just over four million people. It is divided politically into two nations. Irian Jaya, or West Irian, comprises the western half of the island and is part of the nation of Indonesia. Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the island, gained independence from Australia in 1975.
New Guinea is a rugged land.
High mountains form a central division between north and south. Rapid rivers rush from these highlands, cutting deep valleys and gorges, then slow their swift descent to create the vast swamps of the hot, humid lowlands. Dense rainforest covers much of the island. These natural barriers to migration have created the most culturally diverse nation in the world. More than 700 distinct ethnic groups live in Papua.