Geography of Survivor Palau
The tenth season of Survivor takes place on the tiny independent Pacific island country known as Palau, which is north of the island of New Guinea and east of the Philippines in the western part of the Pacific Ocean.
Composed of over 300 islands in six major island groups, Palau gained independence in 1994. Previously, it had been a United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific and under the administration of the United States. This westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands decided not to become part of the nearby Federated States of Micronesia and opted for independence.
Palau is located just north of the equator (7°30'N), which makes for a very hot and humid environment year-round. Within the tropics, there are effectively no seasons so the climate is warm and moist year-round although the wet season is primarily May through November.
With 191 square miles of land area (458 square km), Palau is the seventeenth smallest country in the world. The highest point in Palau is Mount Ngerchelchuus at a mere 242 m (794 feet).
Seventy percent of Palau's approximately 20,000 residents are Palauan (which is Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures). Twenty-eight percent are Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese), and the remainder are white. Palauan and English are the official languages of the fragmented archipelago country.
The economy of Palau consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the country's major employer. The United States is responsible for the defense of Palau, which has no military to speak of.
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