Ulawa Island

Ulawa
Ulawa
Geography
Location Pacific Ocean
Archipelago Solomon Islands
Area 65.92 km2 (25.45 sq mi)
Highest elevation 181 m (594 ft)
Administration
Solomon Islands
Demographics
Population 3297 (2009)

Ulawa Island is an island in the Solomon Islands. It is located near Malaita Island and belongs to Makira Ulawa Province. The island has an area of 65.92 square kilometres (25 square miles).

A hilly island, its highest point is 181 metres (594 feet) above sea level. Average temperatures are around 27 °C year-round, and the island receives an annual average rainfall of some 2,800 mm (110.24 inches).

A dialect of the Sa'a language is spoken on Ulawa.

History

First recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in May 1568. More precisely the sighting and also landing in Ulawa was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine Santiago, commanded by Alférez Hernando Enríquez and having Hernán Gallego as pilot. They charted it as La Treguada and reported that the name given to it by the natives was Uraba.[1][2]

References

  1. ↑ Sharp, Andrew The discovery of the Pacific Islands Oxford 1960 p.46.
  2. ↑ Brand, Donald D. The Pacific Basin A History of its Geographical Explorations The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.133.

Coordinates: 9°46′S 161°57′E / 9.767°S 161.950°E / -9.767; 161.950


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.