SOLOMON ISLANDS, Melanesia, a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, belonging to Great Britain and situated between lat. 5° and 11° S., and between long. 154° and 162° 30' E. It is an irregular chain stretching in a southeast direction from New Pomerania to ward the New Hebrides, 1,000 miles off the northeast coast of Australia. The group con sists of the large islands of Bougainville, Choi seul, Ysabal, Malaita, New Georgia, Guadal canar and San Cristoval, arranged in two parallel rows and a large number of small islands. Bougainville, the largest, is 120 miles long and 35 miles wide and the other islands named above are but little smaller. The total area of the group is about 16,950 square miles. Bougainville, Buka and some contiguous islands were governed by Germany up to 1914, when they were captured by an Australian force. The islands are all elongated from northwest to southeast, and mountainous, rising in Bou gainville to a height of 7,760 feet. There are two active volcanoes and numerous extinct craters and active hot springs. The surrounding waters are beset with coral reefs which make navigation dangerous. All the islands are heavily forested, and vegetation is very luxuri ant. The inhabitants are Melanesians. They
have had hut little communication with Euro peans and are still savages, practising cannibal ism and polygamy. They cultivate the soil and are very skilful in boat-building and wood carving. Their number is estimated at 200,000, while the European population is less than 100, mostly missionaries. The chief products of the islands are copra, trepang, pearl, tortoise-shell and sandal wood. The islands were discovered by Mendafia in 1564. By the Anglo-German conventions of 1886 and 1899 the protectorate of the islands was divided so that Germany re tained Bougainville and its neighboring islets, while the remaining islands came under the pro tection of Great Britain. By the Peace Treaty promulgated 28 June 1919 Germany was deprived of her portion of the islands, amounting in area to 4,200 square miles, which was placed under Australian administration. Consult Guppy, H. B. 'The Solomon Islands' (1887) ; Woodford, C. M., 'A Naturalist Among the Head Hunters' (London 1890).