CHAPTER XII 
THE SOLOMONS, SANTA CRUZ, NEW HEBRIDES, AND NEW 
CALEDONIA 
1. The Solomon Islands. 
The Solomon group consists of a double row of islands ex¬ 
tending south-eastward from the Bismarck Archipelago for 
a distance of about 700 miles. It comprises seven chief 
islands, all of which are, roughly speaking, of much the 
same size and shape. In the north-eastern row are 
Bougainville, Choiseul, Ysabel, and Malaita; and in the 
south - western New Georgia, Guadalcanal^, and San 
Cristobal. The three first-named are within the sphere 
of German influence, the remainder were annexed by the 
British in 1893. The islands are volcanic and moun¬ 
tainous, the mountains being arranged more or less in 
conformity with the axis of the group. 
Bougainville, the most northerly of the group, is the 
largest, being nearly 140 miles long and 35 broad. It 
contains also the highest mountain, Mount Balbi (10,170 
feet), and two volcanoes in a state of constant activity. 
Guadalcanar is scarcely less mountainous, though of 
inferior height, Mount Lammas, the highest point, not 
exceeding 8000 feet. Savo, a small island lying between 
it and Ysabel, has a dormant crater, but the volcanoes of 
