Ontong Java Atoll
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- Ontong Java redirects here. For the undersea plateau, see Ontong Java Plateau.
Ontong Java Atoll is the northernmost tract of land in the Solomon Islands and an outlying part of the province of Malaita. It is sometimes referred to as Lord Howe Atoll which is not to be confused with Lord Howe Island which is east of Australia. The entire size of the atoll is 1400 km², however only 12 km² is land spread out over 122 small islets. The islands are mostly low-lying coral formations, the highest elevation being 13 meters.
Approximately 1800 people live on the atoll; with 1300 on the island of Luaniua and 400 on Pelau. The islands were first inhabited by Polynesians approximately 2000 years ago. The first verifiable European sighting was by Abel Tasman in 1643 who named it Ontong Java; however, it wasn't until 1791 that Europeans set foot on the islands (an Englishman named John Hunter who named it Lord Howe Atoll). In 1893 the islands were annexed by Germany and later ceded to Great Britain in 1899.
Today the Polynesian-speaking inhabitants make a subsistence living by means of copra production and fishing. There is some trade with Hong Kong in beche-de-mer and trochus shells. It also has a prolific number of sea birds including the black-naped tern, which is believed to breed only on Ontong Java Atoll.
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