SOLOMON ISLANDS. A group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. extending in a direction from northwest to southeast between latitudes 5° and 11° S., and longitudes 154° 40' and 162° 30' E. (Map: Australasia, J 3). It is about 120 miles distant from the Bismarck Archipelago on the west. Area, estimated at over 16.000 square miles. The principal islands are Bougaincille, Choiseul, New Georgia. Isabel, Malaita, Guadal canar, and San Cristoval. Most of the islands are oblong in shape, mountainous, and lined with coral reefs along the coast. Traces of the vol canic origin of the group are found in the shape of craters, hot springs, etc. There are some active volcanoes, and earthquakes are of frequent occurrence. The flora is luxuriant and many of the islands have dense forests of ebony and san dalwood. The fauna is essentially Papuan in character, and the climate hot, moist, and un healthful. The value of copra, pear-shell, and vegetable ivory exported is about $150,000 per MI1111111.
The population. estimated at over 170,000, be to the :Melanesian division of the Papuan Melanesian stock. Their physical type is not uni form, the people of the islands on Bougainville Strait being taller, darker, more robust, and more brachyeephalie, those of San Cristoval and the islands adjacent shorter. lighter, less
vigorous, and more dolichovephalie. The lan guages of the islands (very little intercommuni cation exists between some of them) show great variation, amounting sometimes to mutual unin telligibility. Traces of and Polynesian in fluences occur in speech, institutions. etc. Head hunting, slavery, cannibalism, and taboo (here tambu) are among the native institutions now mostly on the wane.
With the exception of the island of Bougain ville and a few smaller islands, belonging to :er many, in the northwestern part of the archi pelago, Great Britain controls the group. The discovery of the Solomon Islands is attributed to the Spanish navigator Mendafia (1567). By an agreement in 1885 the group was divided between Great Britain and Germany and by that of 1599 Great Britain acquired a large part of the Ger man share. Consult: Guppy, The Solomon Isl ands and Their Natirrs (London, 1887) ; id.. The Solomon Islands, Their Geology, etc. (ib., 1887) ; Woodford, A Yeture/ist Among the Head. Hunters (ib., 1890) ; lleehts„ Novrelle geographic uni rerselic, vol. xiv. (Paris, 1880).