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When the island was part of German New Guinea, its name was Neupommern (“New Pomerania”). In common with most of the Bismarcks it was largely formed by volcanic processes, and has active volcanoes including Ulawun (highest volcano nationally), Langila, the Garbuna Group, the Sulu Range, and the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan of the Rabaul caldera. A major eruption of Tavurvur in 1994 destroyed the East New Britain provincial capital of Rabaul. Most of the town still lies under metres of ash, and the capital has been moved to nearby Kokopo.
New Britain extends from 148°18′28″ to 152°24′15″ E longitude and from 4°08′00″ to 6°18′57″ S latitude. It is crescent-shaped, approximately 520 km (320 mi) along its southeastern coastline, and from 29 to 146 km (18 to 91 mi) wide, not including a small central peninsula. The air-line distance from west to east is 477 km (296 mi). The island is the 38th largest in the world, with an area of 35,140 km2 (13,570 sq mi).
Steep cliffs form some sections of the coastline; in others the mountains are further inland, and the coastal area is flat and bordered by coral reefs. The highest point, at 2,334 metres (7,657 ft), is the stratovolcano Mount Ulawun in the east. Most of the terrain is covered with tropical rainforest, and several large rivers are fed by the high rainfall.
The Nakanai Range in East New Britain is composed largely of limestone karst, which extends from the mountain peaks to the southern coast. Erosion of the porous limestone has created large sinkholes, or dolines, and extensive caves and river cave systems. The Nakanai Caves, together with two other karst regions on the New Guinea mainland, were nominated to the World Heritage Tentative List in 2007 as The Sublime Karsts of Papua New Guinea.
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