The St Matthias Islands (also known as the Mussau islands) are a small
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
group of islands in the
Bismarck Archipelago, in northern
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 ...
. They are within
New Ireland Province
New Ireland Province, formerly New Mecklenburg (german: Neu-Mecklenburg), and Nova Hibernia, is the northeasternmost province of Papua New Guinea.
Physical geography
The largest island of the province is New Ireland.
Also part of the province a ...
.
Geography
There are at least 10 islands. The largest and most northerly is
Mussau
Mussau Island is the largest island of St Matthias Islands, Papua New Guinea, at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The island is a noted Biodiversity hotspot with pristine primeval Rainforest
Rainforest ...
.
To the southwest of Mussau are:
Eloaua,
Emananus,
Boliu,
Emussau,
Ebanalu,
Ekaleu, and a few smaller isles.
To the east of Mussau are:
Emirau
Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language. Emira is part of what on ...
, and further east is
Tench Island.
The islands have been designated as an
Endemic Bird Area by
Birdlife International.
Archipelagoes of Papua New Guinea
Bismarck Archipelago
New Ireland Province
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