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TheSanta Cruz Islands form anarchipelago inTemotu Province,Solomon Islands. They lie approximately 250 miles (220 nmi; 400 km) to the southeast of theSolomon Islands archipelago, just north of the archipelago ofVanuatu and are considered part of theVanuatu rain forestsecoregion. The term Santa Cruz Islands is sometimes used to encompass all the islands of Temotu Province, Solomon Islands.
The largest island isNendö, which is also known asSanta Cruz Island proper.Lata, located on Nendö, is the largest town, and is the capital of Temotu Province.
Other islands belonging to the Santa Cruz group[1] areVanikoro (which is actually made up of two islands,Banie and its small neighbourTeanu) andUtupua. The table below provides basic data on these three islands.
| Island name | Area (km²) | Area (sq. mi) | Population | Capital | Height (metres) | Height (feet) | Coordinates |
| Nendö | 505.5 | 195.2 | 5,000 | Lata | 549 | 1,801 | 10°25′S165°30′E / 10.417°S 165.500°E /-10.417; 165.500 (Nendö Island) |
| Vanikoro (=Banie +Teanu) | 173.2 | 66.9 | 1,293 | Puma | 924 | 3,031 | 11°39′S166°54′E / 11.650°S 166.900°E /-11.650; 166.900 (Vanikoro) |
| Utupua | 69.0 | 26.6 | 848 | 380 | 1,247 | 11°20′S166°30′E / 11.333°S 166.500°E /-11.333; 166.500 (Vanikoro) | |
| Santa Cruz Islands | 747.7 | 288.7 | 7,141 | Lata | 924 | 3,031 | 11°00′S166°15′E / 11.000°S 166.250°E /-11.000; 166.250 |
The Santa Cruz Islands are less than five million years old and were pushed upward by thetectonicsubduction of the northward-movingIndo-Australian Plate under thePacific Plate. The islands are mostly composed oflimestone andvolcanic ash over limestone.
The native languages of the islands are classified as theReef Islands – Santa Cruz languages, within theOceanic subgroup of theAustronesian language family.
Historically, the people of Santa Cruz made long-distance ocean-going voyages usingTepukei. Tepukei are ocean-going outrigger canoes specific to somePolynesian societies of eastern Solomon Islands including Santa Cruz. In 1966Gerd Koch, a German anthropologist, carried out research at Graciosa Bay onNendö Island (Ndende/Ndeni) in the Santa Cruz Islands and onPileni andFenualoa in theReef Islands, and returned with documentary film, photographic and audio material. The films that Koch completed are now held by theGerman National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) in Hanover.[2] He brought back to theEthnological Museum of Berlin the last still complete Tepukei from the Santa Cruz Islands.[3] In 1971 Koch publishedDie Materielle Kultur der Santa Cruz-Inseln (The Material Culture of the Santa Cruz Islands).[4]
Navigators from the Santa Cruz islands retained traditional navigation techniques into the 20th century; these techniques were also known by thenavigators of the Caroline Islands. In 1969, Tevake accompaniedDavid Henry Lewis on hisketchIsbjorn fromTaumako using traditional navigation techniques by studying wave patterns and made landfall atFenualoa, having navigated for 50 miles (43 nmi; 80 km) without being able to view the stars, due to cloud cover.[5] On a second voyage fromNifiloli toVanikoro, Tevake navigated by the stars, wave patterns, and the patterns ofbioluminescence that indicated the direction in which islands were located.[5]
The islands were visited by Spanish explorerÁlvaro de Mendaña, the first European to sight them, on his second Pacific expedition in 1595.[6] Mendaña started a colony onNendö which he namedSanta Cruz, at the place also named by the Spaniards as Graciosa Bay, and he died there in 1596.[7]
During thePacific campaign ofWorld War II, theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands was fought north of the Santa Cruz group and someUnited States Navyseaplanes were based in Graciosa Bay, with one reportedly sinking at theseaplane base there. U.S. NavyPatrol Squadron 23 (VP-23), known as the "Seahawks," was stationed at Graciosa Bay, from which it operatedConsolidated PBY Catalinaflying boats, including on "Black Cat" night missions.[8] Chemical ordnance stored on Vanikoro Island during World War II was not completely removed until the 1990s.
The Santa Cruz Islands were affected by the2013 Solomon Islands earthquake and subsequenttsunami on 6 February 2013. Theearthquake produced a tsunami measuring 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) atLata, Solomon Islands,[9] that reached about 500 m (1,640 ft) inland. The airport and low-lying areas were flooded,[10] killing nine people, five of them elderly and one a child. More than 100 houses on the island were damaged, and the water and electricity services were interrupted.[11] It was reported that almost all houses in Nela village were washed away, and some homes in Venga village were shifted by water.[12]
| Central | |
|---|---|
| Choiseul | |
| Guadalcanal | |
| Isabel | |
| Makira-Ulawa | |
| Malaita | |
| Rennell and Bellona | |
| Temotu | |
| Western | |
11°00′S166°15′E / 11.000°S 166.250°E /-11.000; 166.250
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
