17-629: The Santa Cruz Islands form an archipelago in Temotu Province , Solomon Islands . They lie approximately 250 miles (220 nmi; 400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands archipelago , just north of the archipelago of Vanuatu and are considered part of the Vanuatu rain forests ecoregion . The term Santa Cruz Islands is sometimes used to encompass all the islands of Temotu Province, Solomon Islands. The largest island
34-746: A German anthropologist, carried out research at Graciosa Bay on Nendö Island (Ndende/Ndeni) in the Santa Cruz Islands and on Pileni and Fenualoa in the Reef Islands , and returned with documentary film, photographic and audio material. The films that Koch completed are now held by the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) in Hanover. He brought back to the Ethnological Museum of Berlin
51-637: A child. More than 100 houses on the island were damaged, and the water and electricity services were interrupted. It was reported that almost all houses in Nela village were washed away, and some homes in Venga village were shifted by water. 11°00′S 166°15′E / 11.000°S 166.250°E / -11.000; 166.250 Archipelago An archipelago ( / ˌ ɑːr k ə ˈ p ɛ l ə ɡ oʊ / AR -kə- PEL -ə-goh ), sometimes called an island group or island chain ,
68-469: A number of years, but they eventually fell out of favor as land based aircraft rose in prominence. Advances in aircraft technology following World War II resulted in the development of land based aircraft that were capable of travelling greater distances, thus relegating seaplane bases to secondary use by about the 1950s. Although their commercial use has generally fallen out of the mainstream, many seaplane bases in remote areas still have commercial service as
85-518: Is Nendö , which is also known as Santa Cruz Island proper. Lata , located on Nendö, is the largest town, and is the capital of Temotu Province. Other islands belonging to the Santa Cruz group are Vanikoro (which is actually made up of two islands, Banie and its small neighbour Teanu ) and Utupua . The table below provides basic data on these three islands. The Santa Cruz Islands are less than five million years old and were pushed upward by
102-576: Is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands , or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Archipelagos are sometimes defined by political boundaries. For example, while they are geopolitically divided, the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands geologically form part of a larger Gulf Archipelago. The word archipelago is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄρχι-( arkhi- , "chief") and πέλαγος ( pélagos , "sea") through
119-776: The tectonic subduction of the northward-moving Indo-Australian Plate under the Pacific Plate . The islands are mostly composed of limestone and volcanic ash over limestone. The native languages of the islands are classified as the Reef Islands – Santa Cruz languages , within the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Historically, the people of Santa Cruz made long-distance ocean-going voyages using Tepukei . Tepukei are ocean-going outrigger canoes specific to some Polynesian societies of eastern Solomon Islands including Santa Cruz. In 1966 Gerd Koch ,
136-775: The Italian arcipelago . In antiquity , "Archipelago" (from Medieval Greek * ἀρχιπέλαγος and Latin archipelagus ) was the proper name for the Aegean Sea . Later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands (since the sea has a large number of islands). Archipelagos may be found isolated in large amounts of water or neighbouring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland, which form an archipelago. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by subduction zones or hotspots , but may also be
153-623: The invention of the seaplane, traditional boat docks were typically used as there was little need for purpose-built facilities. This would later change, however, as commercial seaplane operations proved financially viable, leading many companies, most notably Pan American Airways , to push for the construction of seaplane bases that were optimized for such use. These new seaplane bases often featured terminal buildings for passengers and cargo, concrete ramps for amphibious aircraft, and floating docks that connected to land. Seaplane bases would end up becoming very heavily utilized for commercial air traffic for
170-770: The last still complete Tepukei from the Santa Cruz Islands. In 1971 Koch published Die Materielle Kultur der Santa Cruz-Inseln (The Material Culture of the Santa Cruz Islands). Navigators from the Santa Cruz islands retained traditional navigation techniques into the 20th century; these techniques were also known by the navigators of the Caroline Islands . In 1969, Tevake accompanied David Henry Lewis on his ketch Isbjorn from Taumako using traditional navigation techniques by studying wave patterns and made landfall at Fenualoa , having navigated for 50 miles (43 nmi; 80 km) without being able to view
187-629: The place also named by the Spaniards as Graciosa Bay, and he died there in 1596. During the Pacific campaign of World War II , the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands was fought north of the Santa Cruz group and some United States Navy seaplanes were based in Graciosa Bay, with one reportedly sinking at the seaplane base there. U.S. Navy Patrol Squadron 23 (VP-23) , known as the "Seahawks,"
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#1732765490641204-411: The result of erosion , deposition , and land elevation . Depending on their geological origin, islands forming archipelagos can be referred to as oceanic islands , continental fragments , or continental islands . Oceanic islands are mainly of volcanic origin, and widely separated from any adjacent continent. The Hawaiian Islands and Galapagos Islands in the Pacific , and Mascarene Islands in
221-670: The shelf. The islands of the Inside Passage off the coast of British Columbia and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are examples. Artificial archipelagos have been created in various countries for different purposes. Palm Islands and The World Islands off Dubai were or are being created for leisure and tourism purposes. Marker Wadden in the Netherlands is being built as a conservation area for birds and other wildlife. The largest archipelago in
238-432: The south Indian Ocean are examples. Continental fragments correspond to land masses that have separated from a continental mass due to tectonic displacement. The Farallon Islands off the coast of California are an example. Sets of islands formed close to the coast of a continent are considered continental archipelagos when they form part of the same continental shelf, when those islands are above-water extensions of
255-436: The stars, due to cloud cover. On a second voyage from Nifiloli to Vanikoro , Tevake navigated by the stars, wave patterns, and the patterns of bioluminescence that indicated the direction in which islands were located. The islands were visited by Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña , the first European to sight them, on his second Pacific expedition in 1595. Mendaña started a colony on Nendö which he named Santa Cruz , at
272-527: The world by number of islands is the Archipelago Sea , which is part of Finland . There are approximately 40,000 islands, mostly uninhabited. The largest archipelagic state in the world by area, and by population, is Indonesia . Seaplane base A seaplane base is a type of airport that is located in a body of water, usually a river, bay, harbor, or lake, where seaplanes and amphibious aircraft take-off and land. Initially following
289-625: Was stationed at Graciosa Bay, from which it operated Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats , including on "Black Cat" night missions. Chemical ordnance stored on Vanikoro Island during World War II was not completely removed until the 1990s. The Santa Cruz Islands were affected by the 2013 Solomon Islands earthquake and subsequent tsunami on 6 February 2013. The earthquake produced a tsunami measuring 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) at Lata, Solomon Islands , that reached about 500 m (1,640 ft) inland. The airport and low-lying areas were flooded, killing nine people, five of them elderly and one
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