Marovo Lagoon is the largest saltwater

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

s in the world. Located in the

New Georgia Islands The New Georgia Islands are part of the Western Province of Solomon Islands. They are located to the northwest of Guadalcanal. The larger islands are mountainous and covered in rain forest. The main islands are New Georgia, Vella Lavella, Kolom ...

, surrounded by

Vangunu Island Vangunu is an island, part of the New Georgia Islands in the Solomon Islands. It is located between New Georgia and Nggatokae Island. To the north and east of the island is Marovo Lagoon. The island has an area of . There are a small number of ...

and

Nggatokae Island Nggatokae Island is an island in the New Georgia Islands within Western Province, Solomon Islands. It is served by Gatokae Aerodrome. The island is an extinct volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, suc ...

, both extinct volcanic islands, at . It is part of the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. It encompasses and is protected by a double

barrier reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

system. Marovo Lagoon is identified as an area with high biodiversity and conservation values. Reef sites at the edge of the lagoon were surveyed in 2014. The sites with the highest Live Coral Cover (LCC) in the Western Province and second highest in the Solomons were on the exposed side of the fringing reef near Marovo Lagoon measuring an average of 49% LCC. The exposed side of the fringing reef of Marovo Lagoon had an average of 38% LCC. The sites with the lowest live coral cover were found near Munda with an average of 18% LCC. The word "Marovo" is derived from the name of the "Marovo Island" located in the central of the Lagoon. The Marovo Lagoon World Heritage Area is located in the Marovo Lagoon. Sightings of

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops aduncus'') is a species of bottlenose dolphin. This dolphin grows to long, and weighs up to . It lives in the waters around India, northern Australia, South China, the Red Sea, and the eastern ...

(''Tursiops aduncus'') have been confirmed in the lagoon. There are many islands in the lagoon, some of which are inhabited. The people speak the

Marovo language Marovo is an Austronesian language of the Solomon Islands. It is spoken in the New Georgia Group on islands in Marovo Lagoon and on the neighbouring islands of New Georgia, Vangunu and Nggatokae. The usual word order in sentences is verb- subje ...

and live mainly by

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

and are skilled at fishing. The men from Marovo Lagoon are known to be skilled carvers, creating and designing beautiful wooded carvings made from ebony, hardwood and kerosene wood. The lagoon is a popular destination for

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

and is a tourism hub for travelers from Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States. You can travel to the Lagoon from the capital city of

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...

by 1 hour on a twin otter plane or 10 hours on a weekly ferry.

References

{{SolomonIslands-geo-stub Bodies of water of the Solomon Islands Lagoons of Oceania