Savaiāi
Savaiāi, westernmost and largest island of Samoa, in the South Pacific Ocean. It is separated from Upolu to the east by the Apolima Strait. Savaiāi is about 50 miles (80 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) across at its widest point. The island is extremely mountainous, reaching 6,095 feet (1,858 meters) at Mount Silisili, its highest point. A string of volcanic craters extends from the east coast at Tuasivi to Samoaās westernmost point at Cape Mulinuāu. Eruptions in the early 1900s ruined many plantations on Savaiāi, but the volcanoes have been quiescent since 1911.
Savaiāi is less developed than neighboring Upolu, and its cultural life is considered more traditional. The chief settlement is Tuasivi, on the eastern coast. The islandās products include coconuts, copra, bananas, cacao, and taro. Some cattle are raised, and wild pigs are plentiful. A government-sponsored reforestation program began at Asau in the northwest in 1970, but wildfires destroyed nearly one-fourth of the islandās forests in 1998. Savaiāi is occasionally struck by devastating tropical cyclones, as occurred in 1990ā91. Area 654 square miles (1,694 square km). Pop. (2011) 44,402.
