Geography of the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a nation in the South Pacific Ocean, that lies east of Papua New Guinea.

Geography of Solomon Islands
ContinentPacific Ocean
RegionOceania
Coordinates8°00′S 159°00′E
AreaRanked 139th
  Total28,896 km2 (11,157 sq mi)
  Land96.8%
  Water3.2%
Coastline5,313 km (3,301 mi)
BordersNone
Highest pointMount Popomanaseu
2,332 metres (7,651 ft)
Lowest pointPacific Ocean
0 m
Exclusive economic zone1,589,477 km2 (613,701 sq mi)

Islands

The nation of Solomon Islands consists of an extensive archipelago: Choiseul, the Shortland Islands, the New Georgia Islands, Santa Isabel, the Russell Islands, the Florida Islands, Malaita, Guadalcanal, Sikaiana, Maramasike, Ulawa, Uki, Makira (San Cristobal), Santa Ana, Rennell, Bellona and the Santa Cruz Islands.

The distance between the most western and most eastern islands is about 1,500 km (930 mi). Especially the Santa Cruz Islands, north of Vanuatu, (of which Tikopia is part) are isolated at more than 200 km (120 mi) from the other islands. The total land size is 28,896 km2 (11,157 sq mi). It has the 22nd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 1,589,477 km2 (613,701 sq mi).

Bougainville is geographically part of the Solomon Islands archipelago, but politically an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea.

Geology and ecology

Volcanoes with varying degrees of activity are situated on some of the larger islands, while many of the smaller islands are simply tiny atolls covered in sand and palm trees.

Climate

The climate is tropical, though temperatures are rarely extreme due to cooling winds blowing off the surrounding seas. Daytime temperatures are normally 25 to 32 °C (77 to 90 °F). From April to October (the dry season), the southeast trade winds blow, gusting at times up to 30 knots (55 km/h) or more.

November to March is the wet seasonthe northwest monsoontypically warmer and wetter. Cyclones arise in the Coral Sea and the area of the Solomon Islands, but they usually veer toward Vanuatu and New Caledonia or down the coast of Australia.

Statistics

Solomon Islands in relation to the rest of Oceania.

Geographic coordinates: 8°00′S 159°00′E

Area:
total: 28,896 km² (10,985 mi²)
land: 27,986 km² (10,633 mi²)
water: 910 km² (351 mi²)

Coastline: 5,313 km

Maritime claims:
Measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf:   200 nmi (230 mi; 370 km)
exclusive economic zone:   1,589,477 km2 (613,701 sq mi) (200 nmi)
territorial sea:   12 nmi (14 mi; 22 km)

Terrain: Mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Popomanaseu 2,332 m (7,651 ft) (not Mount Makarakomburu)

Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel

Land use:
arable land: 0.62%
permanent crops: 2.04%
other: 97.34% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards: Typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity

Environment - current issues: Deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of Solomon Islands, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

See also

References

     This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/.

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.