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Geography Of The Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, that lies east of Papua New Guinea. Islands The major part of the nation of Solomon Islands is the mountainous high islands of the Solomon Islands archipelago, which includes Choiseul, the Shortland Islands, the New Georgia Islands, Santa Isabel, the Russell Islands, the Florida Islands, Tulagi, Malaita, Maramasike, Ulawa, Owaraha (Santa Ana), Makira (San Cristobal), and the main island of Guadalcanal. (The largest island in the archipelago is Bougainville, but it is politically an autonomous region of the neighbouring country of Papua New Guinea.) Solomon Islands also includes isolated low-lying atolls and high islands such as Sikaiana, Rennell Island, Bellona Island, the Santa Cruz Islands and the remote, tiny outliers, Tikopia, Anuta, and Fatutaka. The distance between the most western and most eastern islands is about . Especially the Santa Cruz Islands, north of Vanuatu, are isolated at more than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Oceania in the west and the Americas in the east. At in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of its total surface area, larger than Earth's entire land area combined .Pacific Ocean . '' Britannica Concise.'' 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The centers of both the |
Ulawa Island
Ulawa Island is an island in Solomon Islands. It is located near Malaita Island and belongs to Makira Ulawa Province. The island has an area of . A hilly island, its highest point is above sea level. Average temperatures are around 27 °C year-round, and the island receives an annual average rainfall of some . A dialect of the Sa'a language is spoken on Ulawa Island. History First recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in May 1568. More precisely the sighting and also landing in Ulawa was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine ''Santiago'', commanded by Alférez Hernando Enríquez and having Hernán Gallego as pilot. They charted it as ''La Treguada'' and reported that the name given to it by the natives was ''Uraba''.Brand, Donald D. The Pacific Basin ''A History of its Geographical Explorations The American Geographical Society'', New York, 1967, p.133. Transportation The island is se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of the Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji. Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived on the largest island, Espíritu Santo, in 1606. Queirós claimed the archipelago for Spain, as part of the colonial Spanish East Indies, and named it . In the 1880s, France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the archipelago, and in 1906, they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through an Anglo-French condominium. An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fatutaka
Fatutaka, Fatu Taka or Patu Taka (also known as Fataka and Mitre Island) is a small high island in the Solomon Islands province of Temotu in the south-west Pacific Ocean. The easternmost of the Solomon Islands, Fatutaka is located southeast of Anuta and can be seen from there in clear weather. Fatutaka and Anuta were discovered by Admiral Edward Edwards in 1791. The island, located at , is a small rocky outcropping, rising to an elevation of . The total land area of the island is . Human activities The island's soil is rocky, and not especially fertile, although it has in the past been used as a gardening location for the people of Anuta. The population of Anuta, the closest inhabited island, regularly sail to Fatutaka to eat and collect sea-birds and their eggs. The birds of Fatukaka have never been surveyed although the presence of Frigatebird, Eastern Reef Egret, Pacific Imperial Pigeon, and Emerald Dove have been reported. Geology Fatutaka is one of numerous volcani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anuta
Anuta is a small high island in the southeastern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu, one of the smallest permanently inhabited Polynesian islands. It is one of the Polynesian Outlier communities in Melanesia. Geography The island lies about to the east-southeast of Nendö. It is a small volcanic island with a fringing coral reef. The highest point on the island is above sea level. The island has a diameter of only about and an area of 0.4 square kilometres. The island lies halfway between the Solomon Islands archipelago and Tuvalu. Anuta's nearest populated neighbour is Tikopia Island, about 112 kilometres to the southwest. The next closest islands are Vanikolo, Utupua, and the Reef Islands—with mixed Melanesian and Polynesian populations—and the Duff Islands, all over 320 kilometres away. Further southwest lie the Banks and New Hebrides Groups. History Anuta was first mentioned in 1791, and the political and geographical circumstances led to isolation of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tikopia
Tikopia is a high island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It forms a part of the Melanesian nation state of Solomon Islands but is culturally Polynesian. The first Europeans arrived on 22 April 1606 as part of the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. Location and geography Covering an area of , the island is the remnant of an extinct volcano. Its highest point, Mt. Reani, reaches an elevation of above sea level. Lake Te Roto covers an old volcanic crater which is deep. Tikopia's location is relatively remote. It is sometimes grouped with the Santa Cruz Islands. Administratively, Tikopia belongs to Temotu Province as the southernmost of the Solomon Islands. Some discussions of Tikopian society include its nearest neighbour, the even tinier island of Anuta. History as a Polynesian outlier While it is located in Melanesia, the people of Tikopia are culturally Polynesian. Their language, Tikopian, is a member of the Samoic branch of the Polynesian languages. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Cruz Islands
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands archipelago. The Santa Cruz Islands lie just north of the archipelago of Vanuatu, and are considered part of the Vanuatu rain forests ecoregion. Geography The term Santa Cruz Islands is sometimes used to encompass all of the islands of the present-day Solomon Islands province of Temotu. The largest island is Nendö, which is also known as Santa Cruz Island proper (505.5 km2, highest point , population over 5000). Lata, located on Nendö, is the largest town, and the capital of Temotu province. Other islands belonging to the Santa Cruz group are Vanikoro (173.2 km2, population 800, which is actually two islands, Banie and its small neighbor Teanu) and Utupua (69.0 km2, highest point , population 848). The Santa Cruz Isl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bellona Island
Bellona Island is an island of the Rennell and Bellona Province, in the Solomon Islands. Its length is about and its average width . Its area is about . It is almost totally surrounded by high cliffs, consisting primarily of raised coral limestone. Population Bellona Island is densely populated and its interior is lush and fertile. There are three districts namely Matangi, Ghongau and Ngango. Each district has manaha (tribes) except for Ghongau district, which has two sub-districts; Nguutuanga Bangitakungu and Ngutuanga Bangika'ango. There are many villages on Bellona Island: *Matahenua/Matamoana (west) *Honga'ubea *Tongomainge *Ngotokanaba *Pauta *Ngongona *Gongau *Ahenoa *Matangi *NukuTonga (East) Bellona Island is, like Rennell Island, a Polynesian-inhabited island within the Solomons, where most of the islands are primarily Melanesian with a few Micronesian island provinces. It is thus counted among the Polynesian outliers. The nearby Bellona Shoals were the site of sever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rennell Island
Rennell Island, locally known as Mugaba, is the main island of two inhabited islands that make up the Rennell and Bellona Province in the nation state of Solomon Islands. Rennell Island has a land area of that is about long and wide. It is the second largest raised coral atoll in the world with the largest lake in the insular Pacific, Lake Tegano, a lake that is listed as a World Heritage Site. Rennell Island has a population of about 1,840 persons of Polynesian descent who primarily speak Rennellese, Pijin and some English. Rennell and Bellona Islands are two of the few islands in the otherwise Melanesian Solomon Islands archipelago classified as a Polynesian outlier; others being Sikaiana, Ontong Java, Tikopia, Anuta, Duff Islands, and some Reef Islands. The island lies south of Honiara and north-east of Brisbane. The provincial capital, Tigoa, is at the western end of the island. History Between 2000 and 1600 BC, people belonging to the Lapita Culture made their appear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikaiana
Sikaiana (formerly called the Stewart Islands) is a small atoll NE of Malaita in Solomon Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. It is almost in length and its lagoon, known as Te Moana, is totally enclosed by the coral reef. Its total land surface is only . There is no safe anchorage close to this atoll, which makes it often inaccessible to outsiders. Geography Sikaiana is a remote tropical coral atoll located at latitude and longitude 8°25′0″S 162°52′0″E, over 200 kilometres (125 miles) from any other islands. The main island at Sikaiana atoll, located at the easternmost corner, is called Sikaiana. The three small islands in the west of the atoll are Tehaolei (north), Matuiloto (west), and Matuavi (south). There are also two artificial islands on the reef, Te Palena and Hakatai'atata. History Administratively, Sikaiana is governed as an outlying region of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Sikaiana's population is approximately 300 people of Polynesian descent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can grow. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean. Two different, well-cited models, the subsidence and antecedent karst models, have been used to explain the development of atolls.Droxler, A.W. and Jorry, S.J., 2021. ''The Origin of Modern Atolls: Challenging Darwin's Deeply Ingrained Theory.'' ''Annual Review of Marine Science'', 13, pp.537-573. According to Charles Darwin's ''subsidence model'', the formation of an atoll is explained by the subsidence of a volcanic island around which a coral fringing reef has formed. Over geologic time, the volcanic island becomes extinct and eroded as it subsides completely beneath the surface of the ocean. As the volcanic island subsides, the coral fringing reef becomes a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is . The population of the whole province, including nearby islets such as the Carterets, is approximately 300,000 (2019 census). The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at . The much smaller Buka Island, , lies to the north, across the wide Buka Strait. Even though the strait is narrow, there is no bridge across it, but there is a regular ferry service between the key settlements on either side. The main airport (or airstrip) in the north is in the town of Buka. Bougainville is the largest island in the Solomon Islands archipelago. Most of the islands in this archipelago (which are primarily concentrated in the southern and eastern portions of it) are part of the politically independent Solomon Islands. Two of these islands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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