- Louisiade Archipelago
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of
New Guinea , stretching over more than 160 km and spread over an ocean area of 26,000 km² between theSolomon Sea to the north and theCoral Sea to the south. The aggregate land area of the islands is about 1,790 km² (690 square miles), withVanatinai (formerly Sudest or Tagula as named by European claimants on Western maps) being the largest.Sideia Island andBasilaki Island lie closest to New Guinea, while Misima, Vanatinai, and Rossel islands lie further east.The archipelago is divided into the Local Level Government (LLG) areas Louisiade Rural (western part, with Misima), and Yaleyamba (western part, with
Rossell andTagula islands. The LLG areas are part ofSamarai-Murua District distict of Milne Bay. The seat of the Louisiade Rural LLG isBwagaoia onMisima Island , the population center of the archipelago. [http://www.pngec.gov.pg/ElectionInfo2007/PollSched-MilneBay.pdf]History
The islands were probably observed by
Luis Váez de Torres in 1606, but Malay and Chinese sailors may have visited the islands earlier.Louis Antoine de Bougainville named them in 1768 for Louis XV, the king ofFrance . Visits were also paid by AdmiralBruni d’Entrecasteaux in 1793 and CaptainOwen Stanley in 1849. The1942 Battle of Coral Sea was fought nearby, after Japanese occupation in the same year.Louisiade Archipelago rain forests
The islands have a moist tropical climate, and are largely covered with
tropical moist broadleaf forests . The Louisiade Archipelago rain forests form a distinctecoregion , and are home to a number of endemic species, including several endemictrees (in genera "Pandanus ,Diospyros ," and "Hopea "), as well as five endemicfrog species, two endemiclizard species, and five endemicbird species.References
External links
* [http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/aa/aa0110_full.html Louisiade Archipelago rain forests (World Wildlife Fund)]
* [http://www.pngec.gov.pg/ElectionInfo2007/PollSched-MilneBay.pdf Polling list with place names]
* [http://eusoils.jrc.it/ESDB_Archive/EuDASM/Asia/maps/PG2001_2LU.htm detailed (soil) map 1:1.000.000
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