The Solomon Sea is a

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

located within the

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 continen ...

. It lies between

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and

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 ...

. Many major battles were fought there during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Extent

The

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

defines the limits of the Solomon Sea as follows:

''On the Northwest.'' By the Southeast limit of
Bismarck Sea The Bismarck Sea (, ) lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean within the nation of Papua New Guinea. It is located northeast of the island of New Guinea and south of the Bismarck Archipelago. It has coastlines in districts of the Islands Regi ...
New_Ireland_along_the_parallel_of_4°50'_South_to_the_coast_of_New_Britain.html" ;"title="New_Ireland_(island).html" ;"title=" line from the Southern point of New Ireland (island)">New Ireland along the parallel of 4°50' South to the coast of New Britain">New_Ireland_(island).html" ;"title=" line from the Southern point of New Ireland (island)">New Ireland along the parallel of 4°50' South to the coast of New Britain, along its Northern coast and thence a line from its Western extreme through the Northern point of Umboi Island to Teliata Point,
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
()]. ''On the Northeast.'' By a line from the Southern point of New Ireland to the North point of Buka Island, through this island to the Northwest point of Bougainville Island, along the Southern coasts of Bougainville, Choisel Choiseul.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Choiseul Island, Choiseul">/nowiki> Choiseul/nowiki>, Ysabel Santa_Isabel/nowiki>,_Malaita.html" ;"title="Santa Isabel Island">Santa Isabel/nowiki>, Malaita">Santa Isabel Island">Santa Isabel/nowiki>, Malaita and San Cristobal [Makira] Islands. ''On the South.'' The Northern limit of the Coral Sea between San Cristobal Island, 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 ...
, and Gado-Gadoa Island, off the Southeast extreme of
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
[Gado-Gadoa Island near its Southeastern extreme (), down this meridian to the 100 fathom line and thence along the Southern edges of Uluma (Suckling) Reef and those extending to the Eastward as far as the Southeast point of Lawik Reef () off Tagula Island [Vanatinai], thence a line to the Southern extreme of Rennell Island and from its Eastern point to Cape Surville, the Eastern extreme of San Cristobal Island]. ''On the Southwest.'' By the coast of New Guinea and a line from its Southeasternmost point through the
Louisiade Archipelago The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea. It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread ...
to
Rossel Island Rossel Island (named after de Rossel, a senior officer on the French expedition of d'Entrecasteaux, 1791-1793; also known as Yela) is the easternmost island of the Louisiade Archipelago, within the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Tree Isle ...
.

Deepest point

The Solomon Sea roughly corresponds with the

Solomon Sea Plate The Solomon Sea Plate is a minor tectonic plate to the northwest of the Solomon Islands archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean. Itt roughly corresponds with the Solomon Sea east of Papua New Guinea. Tectonics The tectonic regime in this part of t ...

, a tectonic feature, and includes the New Britain Trench, and reaches its maximum depth at 29,988 feet (9,140 m) below sea level in the Planet Deep.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean Seas of Oceania Bodies of water of Papua New Guinea Bodies of water of the Solomon Islands Geography of Milne Bay Province Geography of New Britain Geography of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Solomon Islands (archipelago) Papua New Guinea–Solomon Islands border