SPREP country report : Tuvalu
Island and Ocean Ecosystems
Available Online
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) (SPREP)
1981
Tuvalu consists of nine coral islands, rarely reaching more than 4 metres in highest elevation, with a total land area of 2,511 hectares. Funafuti, Nanumea, Nui, Nukufetau and Nukulaelae are atolls, generally with narrow strips of land on the east and reef with scattered islets on the west. Nanumanga, Niulakita and Niutao are reef islands consisting of single islets with brackish internal lakes. Vaitupu is intermediate in type, with a large but virtually land-locked central lagoon.