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The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.
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The first inhabitants of the archipelago arrived around 33,000 years ago from New Guinea, either by boats across the Bismarck Sea or via a temporary land bridge, created by an uplift in the Earth's crust. Later arrivals included the Lapita people.
The first European to visit these islands was Dutch explorer Willem Schouten in 1616.[1][2] The islands remained unsettled by western Europeans until they were annexed as part of the German protectorate of German New Guinea in 1884. The area was named in honour of the Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
On 13 March 1888, a volcano erupted on Ritter Island causing a megatsunami. Almost 100% of the volcano fell in to the ocean leaving a small crater lake.[3]
Following the outbreak of World War I, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force seized the islands in 1914 and Australia later received a League of Nations mandate for the islands. They remained under Australian administration — interrupted only by Japanese occupation during World War II — until Papua New Guinea became independent in 1975.
The Bismarck Archipelago includes mostly volcanic islands with a total land area of 49,700 km2 (19,189 sq mi). Islands are grouped here according to administrative province:
The passage of water between the islands of New Britain and New Ireland is called St. George's Channel after St. George's Channel in the British Isles between Wales and Ireland.
Coordinates: 5°00′S 150°00′E / 5°S 150°E
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO, the collective name of a large number of islands lying N. and N.E. of New Guinea, between I° and 7° S., and 146° and 153° E., belonging to Germany. The largest island is New Pomerania, and the archipelago also includes New Mecklenburg, New Hanover, with small attendant islands, the Admiralty Islands and a chain of islands off the coast of New Guinea, the whole system lying in the form of a great amphitheatre of oval shape. The archipelago was named in honour of the first chancellor of the German empire, after a German protectorate had been declared in 1884. (See ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, NEW MECKLENBURG, NEW POMERANIA, NEW GUINEA.)
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The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and part of Papua New Guinea.
Contents |
The first inhabitants of the Archipelago arrived around 33,000 years ago after sailing from what is now Papua New Guinea. Later arrivals included the Lapita people.
The first European to visit these islands was Dutch explorer Willem Schouten in 1616. [1] [2]
The islands remained unsettled by western Europeans until they became part of the German protectorate of German New Guinea in 1884. The area was named in honor of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
On 13 March 1888, a volcano erupted on Ritter Island causing a megatsunami. Almost 100% of the volcano fell in to the ocean leaving a small crater lake.[3]
Following the outbreak of World War I, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force seized the islands in 1914 and Australia later received a League of Nations mandate for the islands. They remained under Australian control — interrupted only by Japanese occupation during World War II — until Papua New Guinea became independent in 1975.
Coordinates: 5°00′S 150°00′E / 5°S 150°E Template:Islands of Papua New Guinea
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