Louisiade Archipelago

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Moving westward from eastern end of the chain are the islands of Rossel and Tagula. (Misima Island, which harbors the largest village in the region, is obscured by a patch of clouds northeast of image center

The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten volcanic islands and coral reefs located just southeast of Papua New Guinea, between the Solomon Sea to the north and the Coral Sea to the south. Sideia and Basilaki islands lie closest to New Guinea, while Misima, Vanatinai (called Sudest or Tagula as named by European claimants on Western maps) , and Rossel islands lie further east. Part of the province of Milne Bay, the archipelago has a land area of approximately 1600 km² (600 square miles), and Vanatinai (Sudest/Tagula) is the largest island. (800 km²).

The 1942 Battle of Coral Sea was fought nearby.

The islands were probably observed by Luis Váez de Torres in 1606. Louis Antoine de Bougainville named them in 1768 for Louis XV, the king of France.

[edit] Louisiade Archipelago rain forests

The islands have a moist tropical climate, and are largely covered with tropical moist broadleaf forests. The Louisiade Archipelago rain forests form a distinct ecoregion, and are home to a number of endemic species, including several endemic trees (in genera Pandanus, Diospyros, and Hopea), as well as five endemic frog species, two endemic lizard species, and five endemic bird species.