Guadalcanal

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This article is about the island in the Pacific Ocean; for other uses, see Guadalcanal (disambiguation)

Guadalcanal is a 2,510 square mile (6 500 km²) island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands. The island became the scene of the important Guadalcanal Campaign during World War II. The island, which is mainly jungle, contains the national capital of the Solomon Islands, Honiara, and has a population of 109,382 (1999).

[edit] Overview

Guadalcanal is mountainous. Most of the population is along the north coast. The southern coast is known as the Weather Coast. Rainfall here is very heavy, hence its name. Guadalcanal is infested with mosquitoes, and malaria is an endemic disease.

Transport is by a road along the north coast which extends most of the length of the island. Access to the Weather Coast is on foot or via boat or helicopter. Honiara International Airport, the Solomon Islands' main airport, is just to the east of Honiara. It was formerly known as Henderson Field and was built in 1942.

Much of the northern part of the island is fringed by steeply sloping raised coral reefs. Languages spoken on this island are Pidgin and several different Melanesian languages.

[edit] History

A Spanish expedition under Álvaro de Mendaña discovered the island in 1568. It was named by Mendaña's subordinate Pedro de Ortega after his home town in Andalusia, Guadalcanal. However, he did not spell the name consistently (using variously Guadarcana, Guarcana, and Guadalcana), and the island subsequently became known as Guadalcanar. Later it became part of the British Empire, and in 1932 the British changed the spelling to Guadalcanal.

Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor and Singapore, Japanese forces advanced into the South Pacific, reaching Guadalcanal in May 1942. United States forces chose Guadalcanal for their first major large-scale invasion of a Japanese-held island. Guadalcanal became a major turning-point in the war.

The Battle of Cape Esperance was fought on October 11, 1942 on the northwest coast of Guadalcanal. In the battle, United States Navy ships intercepted and defeated a Japanese fleet on their way to reinforce troops on the island. U.S. forces reinvaded and, after six months of fighting, managed to halt the Japanese advance, driving Japan's troops into the sea on January 15, 1943. American authorities declared Guadalcanal secure on February 9, 1943.

Two U.S. Navy ships have been named for the battle: