Bourail is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Bourail is a rural town of Grande Terre, New Caledonia's main island. The municipality stretches between the mountain ranges running the length of New Caledonia down to the sea. Beaches attract tourists but have retained their natural landscapes, and are popular with surfers. The town lies at the confluence of several rivers, is the crossroads of many valleys including Boghen, Bacouya, Nessadiou, Nera, Tene and La Pouéo. The territory of the municipality has various natural landscapes: Mining landscapes Landscapes of valleys and alluvial plains making Bourail the capital of rural New Caledonia Coastal mangroves The coastline also includes surf beaches and calmer beaches protected by the outer coral reef seascapes including reefs and passes With a density of 6 inhabitants / km ², Bourail has a mix rural and town life. Climate Bourail has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). The average annual temperature in Bourail is . The average annual rainfall is with March as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around , and lowest in July, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Bourail was on 17 February 1980; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 17 June 1965. Toponymy Bourail means "lizard's tail". This comes from bu rhaï in the Ajie language, bu meaning "tail" and rhaï "the lizard". Coat of arms The two casings represent the Kanak population The crescent moon represents the Muslim population Blue Cross is the cemetery of New Zealand The Bird is the yellow-legged Thrush Moluccan imported control such invasions of locusts head of livestock and the Sheaf of Wheat represents the farming community Slogan The slogan of Bourail used for tourism is "Bourail, land of emotions." Population and Society Demography 5,531 inhabitants (2019) The average age of the population is under 30 years. Most young people from Bourail continue their studies in Nouméa. To mitigate this requirement, the town has seen several more schools built. There are about 2,000 children attending schools up to high school level, but there is no university. The inhabitants are called Bouraillais(es), they are nicknamed "Pattes Jaunes", literally "yellow legs" (referring to one of the birds of the region: common Mynas). Schools College Louis-Léopold Djiet Private College Sacré-Coeur Private vocational school Père Guéneau (LPPG-mechanical) and