In the western Pacific Ocean lies Lake Solomon, which is bounded by New Guinea, the island of New Britain and to the east by the Solomon Islands. The deepest point in this part of the sea is at about 9 140 meters depth. This bi-ocean is known for many battles between the United States and Japan fought in it during World War II and it includes many islands and places with a unique wildlife. The bottom of Solomon Lake consists of two different bottom basins. The New Britain basin is located in the northern part of the lake and here the average depth is about 4,000 meters. It is here that one can find the deepest depths which includes the New Britain trench. The southern bottom basin has a depth of about 7,000 meters.
Geography and history
In Lake Solomon we find the Louisiade archipelago as well as the New Georgia and Guadalcanal islands. In the south, the sea part joins the Coral Sea and in the northwest is Bismarcksjön. In the northeast, Lake Solomon turns into an open sea. It is believed that people from Polynesia, Arabs and Chinese were the first to navigate these waters. The first European to cross Lake Solomon was Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira who succeeded in this in 1567.
Nature and environment
There are a number of different species that live in and around Lake Solomon. Here are unique specimens of turtles such as green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and even whales. Other unique animals are dugongs which together with jellyfish form the order sirens. A dugong is a very unique animal that has a whitish color and can be seen with a huge muzzle swimming along the bottom in shallow water. In this area you can come across seahorses. There are also plenty of birds and animals that live above the water on the various islands.
As humans have devastated mangrove forests and cleared up coconut plantations, the ecology of this sea area has changed. Sedimentation and discharges from sewers and from industries have also done their part to change the natural ecological system. Other things that have affected the environment are illegal fishing with dynamite and hunting of crocodiles and turtles. Tourism has also affected ecology and all this has led to some species now being endangered.
Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands, located in Lake Solomon, is its own sovereign state located east of Papua New Guinea. This state consists of about a thousand different islands. The capital is on the island of Guadalcanal and it is believed that people have lived on these islands for several thousand years. It was the Spaniard Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira who gave the islands its name, Islas Salomon. During World War II, the Battle of the Solomon Islands between the United States and Japan took place on these islands, as well as the Battle of the main island of Guadalcanal.
Since 1976, it has had its own government over the islands, but the Solomon Islands are also counted as a constitutional monarchy and it is the British monarch who is counted as head of state. The islands have democratic elections and a government with a prime minister.
