Apolima is the smallest of the four inhabited islands of Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

 and situated in the Apolima Strait

Apolima Strait

The Apolima Strait is about 13km wide and separates the two largest islands of Samoa, the island of Savai'i to the northwest, and Upolu to the southeast....

, between the country's two largest islands Upolu

Upolu

Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long, in area, and is the second largest in geographic area as well as the most populated of the Samoan Islands. Upolu is situated to the east of...

 to the east and Savai'i

Savai'i

Savaii is the largest and highest island in Samoa and the Samoa Islands chain. It is also the biggest landmass in Polynesia outside Hawaii and New Zealand. The island of Savai'i is also referred to by Samoans as Salafai, a classical Samoan term used in oratory and prose...

 to the west.

The island has one village settlement, Apolima Tai

Apolima Tai

Apolima Tai is a small village settlement on the tiny volcanic island of Apolima in Samoa. The village is situated on the north side of the islet which is in the political district of Aiga-i-le-Tai.The village population is 75 ....

 with a population of 75 (2006 Census).The small settlement is situated in the interior's flat plateau on the northern side.

Apolima is a rim of an extinct volcanic crater with a maximum height of 165 m. It is a little less than one square kilometer in size and the only access to the island is by boat.

The tiny island lies 2.4 km northwest off the westernmost edge of Upolu's fringing barrier reef

Coral reef

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...

 and 7 km southwest of Savai'i island. The island's appearance is of an upturned bowl with surrounding steep cliffs and a broad opening to the sea on the northern side which is the main entry point by boat.

There are two neighbouring islands in the strait, Manono Island

Manono Island

Manono is an island of Samoa, situated in the Apolima Strait between the main islands of Savai'i and Upolu, 3.4 km WNW off Lefatu Cape, the westernmost point of Upolu....

, which has a small population and the smaller uninhabited islet of Nu'ulopa

Nu'ulopa

Nu'ulopa is a small uninhabited island in the Apolima Strait between the islands of Upolu and Savai'i in Samoa. The island is part of Aiga-i-le-Tai district....

.

Apolima island is part of the political district of Aiga-i-le-Tai

Aiga-i-le-Tai

Aiga-i-le-Tai is a district of Samoa which includes the small islands of Manono, Apolima and tiny uninhabited Nu'ulopa lying in the Apolima Strait between the country's two main islands of Upolu and Savai'i....

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