8°00′S159°00′E / 8.000°S 159.000°E /-8.000; 159.000
 The archipelago, withPapua New Guinea territories (Bougainville) in dun andSolomon Islands territories (excluding theSanta Cruz Islands) in beige. | |
 Interactive map of Solomon Islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | South Pacific Ocean |
| Major islands | Bougainville,Guadalcanal |
| Administration | |
TheSolomon Islands is anisland group (archipelago) in the westernSouth Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. The archipelago is in theMelanesian subregion andbioregion ofOceania and forms the eastern boundary of theSolomon Sea. The many islands of the archipelago are distributed across the sovereign states ofPapua New Guinea andSolomon Islands. The largest island in the archipelago isBougainville Island, which is a part of theAutonomous Region of Bougainville (currently a part of Papua New Guinea) along withBuka Island, theNukumanu Islands, and a number of smaller nearby islands. Much of the remainder falls within the territory of Solomon Islands and include theatolls ofOntong Java,Sikaiana, theraised coral atolls ofBellona andRennell, and thevolcanic islands ofChoiseul,Guadalcanal,Makira,Malaita,New Georgia, theNggelas,Santa Isabel, and theShortlands. TheSanta Cruz Islands are not a part of the archipelago.
The Solomon Islands archipelago consists of over 1,000 islands, ranging from low-lyingcoral atolls to mountainousvolcanic islands, including manyvolcanoes with varying degrees of activity.Bougainville Island is the largest in the archipelago, with an area of 9,300 km2 (3591 sq miles).Mount Balbi on Bougainville is the highest peak in the archipelago at 2,715 metres.
The Solomon Islands archipelago was formed by the convergence of theIndo-Australian Plate and thePacific Plate. The Indo-Australian Plate and the smallerSolomon Sea Plate aresubducting beneath the Pacific Plate along the New Britain–San Cristobaloceanic trench, which runs south of and parallel to the archipelago in theSolomon Sea.[1] The surface geology of the islands is mostlyigneous rocks, outcrops ofmetamorphic rocks,alluvial lowlands, and uplifted coral islands. Areas of ancient coralline limestone are found on Bougainville.[2]
Active and dormant volcanoes are found in an arc extending from Bougainville in the north through theNew Georgia Islands andSavo Island to Gallego volcano on the northwest end of Guadalcanal. Arc volcanism dates the earliest volcanoes on the islands to the Early/Middle Eocene.[1]
The archipelago is bounded both to the northeast and southwest by subduction zones, which pull in opposing directions. The rates of subduction on various zones have varied greatly over time due to the subduction of rough seafloor features, such asseamounts. Severalridges have been subducted, associated with periods oftectonic uplift on certain islands, again with highly variable rates. However, it is believed that subduction around the Solomon Islands represents one of the highest rates of convergence found on Earth at 10–12 cm/yr.[1]
Subduction zones around the archipelago are tectonically active, though recorded seismicity is higher on the southern side of the island chain. The largest recorded earthquake from the Solomon Islands was a Mw 8.1 that occurred on April 1, 2007.[1]
The climate of the islands is tropical; however, temperatures do not greatly fluctuate due to theheat sink of the surrounding ocean. Daytime temperatures are normally 25 to 32 °C (77 to 90 °F) and 13 to 15 °C (55 to 59 °F) at night. From April to October (the dry season), the southeast trade winds blow, gusting at times up to 30 knots (55 km/h; 35 mph) or more.
November to March is the wet season, caused by the northwestmonsoon, and is typically warmer and wetter.Cyclones arise in the Coral Sea and the area of the Solomon Islands, but they usually veer towardVanuatu andNew Caledonia or down the coast ofAustralia.
The natural vegetation of the Solomon Archipelago consists of lowland and tropical forests. The major plant communities include coastal strand, mangrove forests, freshwater swamp forests, lowland rain forests, and montane rain forest. Seasonally-dry forests and grasslands are found on the northern (leeward) slopes ofGuadalcanal.[2]
The islands are home to 47 native mammal species, includingbats,murid rodents, andpossums, gliders, and cuscuses. 26 species are endemic or near-endemic – 17 species of bats, and nine species of murid rodent.
199 bird species are native to the Solomon archipelago, of which 69 species are endemic.[2]
On the larger mountainous islands in the archipelago, numerous streams and short rivers run from the mountains to the sea, cutting deep valleys.
The freshwater fishes of the Solomon Archipelago have not been well studied, but there are likely fourendemic species of freshwater fish in the islands - two species of genusSicyopterus, one ofLentipes, and one ofStenogobius. The Otomebora mullet(Planiliza melinopterus) is endangered.[3]
The Solomon Archipelago has a rich and diverse marine life, including coral reefs andseagrass meadows. The archipelago is part of theCoral Triangle, the region of the western Pacific with world's greatest diversity of corals and coral reef species. The Solomons have 494 species ofcoral, and 1019 species of reef fish.Dugongs are found in the seagrass meadows and near-shore waters.[4]
It is believed thatPapuan-speaking settlers began to arrive around 30,000 BCE fromNew Ireland. It was the furthest humans went in thePacific untilAustronesian speakers arrivedc. 4000 BCE, also bringing cultural elements such as theoutrigger canoe.[5]
It is between 1200 and 800 BCE that the ancestors of thePolynesians, theLapita people, arrived from theBismarck Archipelago with their characteristicceramics.[5] Most of the languages spoken today in the Solomon Islands derive from this era, but some thirty languages of the pre-Austronesian settlers survive(seeEast Papuan languages).
The first European to visit the islands was the Spanish navigatorÁlvaro de Mendaña de Neira, coming from theViceroyalty of Peru to theSpanish East Indies in 1568. The people of Solomon Islands had engaged inheadhunting andcannibalism before the arrival of the Europeans.[6]
Missionaries began visiting the Solomons in the mid-19th century. They made little progress at first, because "blackbirding", the often brutal recruitment and relocation of labourers for the sugar plantations inQueensland andFiji, led to a series of reprisals and massacres. In 1885 the Germans declared a protectorate over the northern islands, to form theGerman Solomon Islands Protectorate. The evils of the labour trade prompted the United Kingdom to declare a protectorate over the southern islands in June 1893, theBritish Solomon Islands Protectorate.[7]
In 1900, under theTreaty of Berlin, the Germans transferred a number of their Solomon Islands to theBritish Solomon Islands Protectorate. The remaining German Solomon Islands, at the extreme northwest of the archipelago, were retained by Germany until they fell to Australia early on inWorld War I. After the war theLeague of Nations formally mandated those islands to Australia along with the rest ofGerman New Guinea, becoming Australian New Guinea.
DuringWorld War II, theTerritory of Papua and the MandatedTerritory of New Guinea were within theAustralian New Guinea Administrative Unit (1942–1946). After the war the Australian Territory of New Guinea was administered separately from the neighbouring Territory of Papua until the year 1949 when the two territories were formally united into theTerritory of Papua and New Guinea.
TheTerritory of Papua and New Guinea became independent from Australia in the year 1975 as the modern state ofPapua New Guinea. TheAutonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea was established in the northern Solomon Islands in 2000.
Following the independence of neighbouring Papua New Guinea from Australia in 1975, theBritish Solomon Islands gained self-government in 1976. Independence for theSolomon Islands nation was granted on 7 July 1978.
The population of the Solomons is mostlyMelanesian, although minorityPolynesian andMicronesian communities exist. There has also been a large influx of Chinese immigrants.
Around 60 to 70 languages are spoken in the Solomon Islands archipelago. ManyMelanesian languages, predominantly of theSoutheast Solomonic group, andPolynesian languages are native to the area. Immigrant populations speakMicronesian languages. English is an official language in both areas of the archipelago. There are three families ofPapuan languages native to the archipelago: theNorth Bougainville languages,South Bougainville languages, and theCentral Solomon languages.
The predominant religion on the islands is Christianity, with the largest denomination being theAnglican Church of Melanesia.
Governance of the Solomon Islands (archipelago) is split between the sovereign state ofSolomon Islands and theAutonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. Both countries are constitutional monarchies andCommonwealth realms. In a2019 referendum, over 98% of Bougainville voters supported independence. Bougainville leaders have started negotiating independence terms with the government of Papua New Guinea.
