Nggela Islands
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Native name: Florida Islands | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Coordinates | 9°00′S 160°10′E / 9.000°S 160.167°E |
Total islands | 4 |
Major islands | 2 |
Administration | |
Solomon Islands | |
Province | Central Province |
The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands,[1] a sovereign state (since 1978) in the southwest Pacific Ocean.[2]
The chain is composed of four larger islands and about 50 smaller islands.[1] The two main islands, Nggela Sule and Nggela Pile to its southeast,[3] are separated by a channel, Mboli Passage.[1] The name Florida Island is sometimes also used to refer to Nggela Sule.[1] The other two large islands lie northwest of Nggela Sule; Sandfly (also known as Mobokonimbeti or Olevugha) and, further northwest, Buenavista (also known as Vatilau).[1][4]
Many of the smaller islands have white coral beaches.[1] North of Nggela Sule is Anuha (70 ha (170 acres)), and just off the southwest coast of Nggela Sule is Tulagi. the capital of Central Province.[5] Other islands include Gavutu and Tanambogo.
History
The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña on 16 April 1568. More precisely the sighting was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine Santiago, commanded by Maestre de campo Pedro Ortega Valencia and having Hernán Gallego as pilot. They were who charted it as "Pascua Florida" (from the festival of that name) from where its present-day name "Florida" derives.[6][7] Tulagi in Nggela Sule was the seat of the administration of the British Solomon Islands prior to the 1942 Japanese invasion in World War II.
The Nggela Islands group lies immediately north of the more famous island of
After World War II, the British administration moved to Honiara, Guadalcanal.
Fauna
The
Other animals include:
- dark sheath-tailed bat
- diadem leaf-nosed bat
- dwarf flying fox
- Geoffroy's rousette
- great bent-winged bat
- island tube-nosed fruit bat
- long-tongued nectar bat
- Solomon's naked-backed fruit bat
- Woodford's fruit bat
References
- ^ ISBN 9780595277568.
- ^ "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: The Solomon Islands". history.state.gov. Office of The Historian, US Department of State. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ Macdonald, Ian (3 December 2010). "Provincial Flags (Solomon Islands)". CRWFlags.com. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ "Geographic Names: Sandfly Passage: Solomon Islands". geographic.org. Bethesda, Maryland: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ Macdonald, Ian (16 March 2013). "Central Province (Solomon Islands)". CRWFlags.com. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ Sharp, Andrew (1960). The Discovery of the Pacific Islands. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 45.
- The American Geographical Society. p. 133.