Solomon Islands
A Melanesian archipelago of forest and reef
The Solomon Islands form a double chain of volcanic islands and atolls east of Papua New Guinea, a Melanesian nation of dense rainforest, coral lagoons, and scattered villages where most people still live by subsistence farming and fishing. The largest island, Guadalcanal, gives its name to one of the most ferocious campaigns of the Second World War, and the waters offshore, dubbed Iron Bottom Sound, still hold the wrecks of warships. Honiara, on Guadalcanal, is the capital of a country of nearly a thousand islands and dozens of languages.
The main islands are rugged and volcanic, mountainous and heavily forested, with Mount Popomanaseu on Guadalcanal rising to 2,335 meters. Smaller islands include raised coral and low atolls, and active volcanoes punctuate the chain. The climate is hot, humid, and wet, lying within the cyclone belt and along the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, so earthquakes and tsunamis are recurring threats. Coral reefs and lagoons ring the islands, supporting rich fisheries and some of the most biodiverse marine environments on the planet.
Settled by Austronesian-speaking peoples thousands of years ago, the islands were named by a Spanish explorer who imagined them the source of King Solomon's gold. A British protectorate from the 1890s, they became a battleground in 1942 and gained independence in 1978. The young nation has struggled with ethnic tension, notably the conflict around Guadalcanal at the turn of the century that required regional intervention. Its economy depends on logging, fishing, agriculture, and aid, and it remains one of the less-developed nations of the Pacific.