Samarai Islands

Samarai Islands
Geography
Coordinates 11°12′S 153°00′E / 11.200°S 153.000°E / -11.200; 153.000Coordinates: 11°12′S 153°00′E / 11.200°S 153.000°E / -11.200; 153.000
Total islands 50
Major islands 5
Area 262.1 km2 (101.2 sq mi)
Administration
Province Milne Bay Province
Capital city Samarai
Largest settlement Samarai (pop. 460)
Demographics
Population 8200 (2014)
Louisiade Archipelago
Moving westward from eastern end of the chain are the islands of Rossel and Vanatinai (Tagula). Misima Island, which harbors the largest village in the region, is obscured by a patch of clouds northeast of image center

The Samarai Islands is a string of four larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 30 smaller coral islands located 50 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than 50 kilometres (31 mi) and spread over an ocean area of 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) between the Solomon Sea to the north and the Coral Sea to the south. The aggregate land area of the islands is about 262.1 square kilometres (101.2 sq mi), with Basilaki Island being the largest.

Logea, Samarai and Sariba lie closest to New Guinea, while the Kitai Group lies further east.

The entire group belongs to the Local Level Government (LLG) area of Bwanabwana Rural, which is part of Samarai-Murua District of Milne Bay. The seat of the Bwanabwana Rural LLG is Samarai, the population center of the archipelago.[1]

List of islands

History

The islands were most likely 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 of France. Visits were also paid by Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1793 and Captain Owen Stanley in 1849.

Climate

The islands have a moist tropical climate, and are largely covered with tropical moist broadleaf forests.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.pngec.gov.pg/ElectionInfo2007/PollSched-MilneBay.pdf
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.