The New International Encyclopædia/New Pomerania

NEW POMERA′NIA (Ger. Neu Pommern), formerly New Britain. The largest island of the Bismarck Archipelago, in Melanesia. It lies 50 miles from the northeast coast of New Guinea, and stretches east and northward in a narrow crescent, 300 miles long and 90 miles in greatest breadth, but in several places contracted to a strip only a few miles wide (Map: Australasia, H 3). Its area is about 9500 square miles. The interior is still but little known; it is mountainous, with several active or half extinct volcanoes in the northeastern part, one of which has an altitude of 3600 feet, while in the western extremity Hunstein Mountain reaches a height of 6000 feet. The rainfall on the island is abundant, and the vegetation is luxuriant, the interior being covered with immense forests reaching to the summits of the mountains, while the coastal districts are very fertile. The natives, whose numbers are unknown, are Melanesian savages. The European inhabitants number less than 100, and reside in a missionary and a trading station on the northeastern coast. For statistics and history, see Bismarck Archipelago.