 | |
 Tolokiwa Island is to the west ofNew Britain | |
  Tolokiwa Island  Tolokiwa Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bismarck Sea |
| Coordinates | 5°19′S147°36′E / 5.317°S 147.600°E /-5.317; 147.600 |
| Archipelago | Bismark Archipelago |
| Administration | |
| Province | Morobe Province |
| LLG | Siassi Rural LLG |
Tolokiwa Island, also known asLottin Island, is an island in theBismarck Sea, situated betweenLong Island andUmboi. The island is volcanic in origin and part of theBismarck Archipelago. It is in the Lokep Ward of theSiassi Rural LLG local government area of theMorobe Province ofPapua New Guinea (PNG).[1] Although the island has suffered no recent volcanic eruptions, it is in an area that suffers from frequent earthquakes.[2]
The earliest known sighting of the island by outsiders was byWilliam Dampier, an English explorer,privateer, navigator, and naturalist. He sailed past Long Island and Tolikawa Island in 1700 and drew profiles in his log book.[3]
Tolokiwa Island is situated 75 km north of theNew Guinea mainland. The island has a diameter of 7 km and an area of 46 km2. Its highest point in the Sulany peak at 1372 metres. The island was built up by a series of volcanic eruptions during thePleistocene epoch.[4] The well-vegetated[5] island is an important natural site for birds,[6] and is home to several species of resident birds (which it unusually shares with nearby islands). However, these may not be birds indigenous to the island as it is believed that wildlife would have been wiped out by a volcanic eruption on Long Island in the mid 17th-century.[3][7] Tolokiwa is also home to a subspecies ofTurdus Poliocephalus, the Tasman Sea island thrush.[8]
The island sustained damage during the 13 March1888 eruption of nearbyRitter Island, which caused a tsunami to hit Tolokiwa and other islands as well as the north coast of New Guinea.[9]
Islands ofPapua New Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Bismarck Archipelago | |
| Louisiade Archipelago | |
| North Solomon Islands | |
