Bismarck Archipelago 293888 222470832 2008-06-29T14:44:58Z DOI bot 6652755 Citation maintenance. Removed redundant parameters. You can [[WP:DOI|use this bot]] yourself! Please [[User:DOI_bot/bugs|report any bugs]]. 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]]. ==History== 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 [[Netherlands|Dutch]] explorer [[Willem Schouten]] in 1616. <ref> Sigmond,J.P and Zuiderbann, L.H.(1976) ''Dutch Discoveries of Australia'', Rigby, Australia. ISBN 07270 08005 </ref> <ref> Spate, O.H.K. (1979) ''The Spanish Lake'', Australian National University, Second Edition, 2004. ISBN 1920942 173 </ref> The islands remained unsettled by western Europeans until they became part of the [[Germany|German]] [[protectorate]] of [[German New Guinea]] in [[1884]]. The area was named in honour of the [[Germany|German]] [[Chancellor of Germany|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]].<ref>{{cite journal | quotes = | last = Ward | first = Steven N. | authorlink = | coauthors = Day, Simon | date = | year = 2003 | month = September | title = Ritter Island Volcano —lateral collapse and the tsunami of 1888 | journal = Geophysical Journal International | volume = 154 | issue = 3 | pages = 891 | publisher = Blackwell Publishing | location = | doi = 10.1046/j.1365-246X.2003.02016.x | bibcode = | oclc = | id = | url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1365-246X.2003.02016.x?journalCode=gji | language = | format = | accessdate = 2007-12-17 | quote = In the early morning of 1888 March 13, roughly 5 km3 of Ritter Island Volcano fell violently into the sea northeast of New Guinea. This event, the largest lateral collapse of an island volcano to be recorded in historical time, flung devastating tsunami tens of metres high on to adjacent shores. Several hundred kilometres away, observers on New Guinea chronicled 3 min period waves up to 8 m high, that lasted for as long as 3 h. These accounts represent the best available first-hand information on tsunami generated by a major volcano lateral collapse. In this article, we simulate the Ritter Island landslide as constrained by a 1985 sonar survey of its debris field and compare predicted tsunami with historical observations. The best agreement occurs for landslides travelling at 40 m s-1, but velocities up to 80 m s-1 cannot be excluded. The Ritter Island debris dropped little more than 800 m vertically and moved slowly compared with landslides that descend into deeper water. Basal friction block models predict that slides with shorter falls should attain lower peak velocities and that 40+ m s-1 is perfectly compatible with the geometry and runout extent of the Ritter Island landslide. The consensus between theory and observation for the Ritter Island waves increases our confidence in the existence of mega-tsunami produced by oceanic volcano collapses two to three orders of magnitude larger in scale. }}</ref> 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 &mdash; interrupted only by [[Japan]]ese occupation during [[World War II]] &mdash; until Papua New Guinea became independent in [[1975]]. ==Geography== The Bismarck [[archipelago]] includes mostly [[volcanic island]]s spread into 4 provinces with an area of {{convert|49700|km2|sqmi|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} where the most important islands include: [[Image:Karta PG Bismarck Archipelago.PNG|thumb|300px| the Bismarck Archipelago]] [[Image:Papua new guinea provinces (numbers).png|thumb|300px| provinces of Papua New Guinea]] * '''[[East New Britain]] Province''' (4) ** [[New Britain]] or Niu Briten, main island ** [[Duke of York Islands]] * '''[[Manus Province]]''' (9) ** [[Admiralty Islands]] ** [[Manus Island]], main island ** [[Lou Island]] ** [[Los Negros Island]] ** [[Ndrova Island]] ** [[Tong Island (Papua New Guinea)|Tong Island]] ** [[Baluan Island]] ** [[Pak Island]] ** [[Purdy Islands]] ** [[Rambutyo Island]] ** [[St Andrews Islands]] ** [[Western Islands, Papua New Guinea|Western Islands]] with ** [[Aua Island]] ** [[Hermit Islands]] ** [[Kaniet Islands]] ** [[Ninigo Islands]] ** [[Wuvulu Island]] * '''[[New Ireland Province]]''' (12) ** [[New Ireland (island)|New Ireland]] or Niu Ailan, main island ** [[New Hanover Island|New Hanover]] or Lavongai ** [[Feni Islands]] ** [[Lihir Island]] ** [[Tabar Group]] ** [[Tanga Group]] ** [[Saint Matthias Group]] * '''[[West New Britain]] Province''' (18) ** [[New Britain]] or Niu Briten, main island ** [[Vitu Islands]] * '''[[Bougainville Province]]''' (14) Autonomous and lying southeast of the Feni Islands ** **[[Bougainville Island]] ** [[Buka Island]] **[[Carteret Islands]] **[[Green Islands, Papua New Guinea| Green Islands]] (which sometimes are included despite not really being part of the area.) ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==Bibliography== *Firth, Stewart (1983). ''New Guinea Under the Germans''. Carlton, Australia: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0522842208. *Howe, K. R., Robert C. Kiste, Brij V. Lal, eds. (1994). ''Tides of History: The Pacific Islands in the Twentieth Century''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824815971. *King, David ''et al.'' (1982). ''Papua New Guinea Atlas: A Nation in Transition''. Bathurst, Australia: R. Brown and the University of Papua New Guinea. ISBN 0909197148. *Moore, Clive (2003). ''New Guinea: Crossing Boundaries and History''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824824857. *Ryan, Peter, ed. (1972). ''Encyclopedia of Papua New Guinea''. 3 volumes; Vol I: A - K, maps, black and white illustrations, xv + 588pp. Vol II: l - Z, maps, black and white illustrations, 589-1231pp. Vol III: Index, folding colour map in rear pocket, map, colour illustration, v + 83pp. Carlton, Australia: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522840254. ==External links== * [http://www.pngtourism.org.pg/png/export/sites/TPA/provinces/index.html about the provinces] {{coor title dm|5|00|S|150|00|E|region:PG_type:isle}} {{Islands of Papua New Guinea}} [[Category:Islands of Papua New Guinea]] [[Category:Archipelagoes]] [[Category:Ecoregions]] [[bg:Архипелаг Бисмарк]] [[ca:Arxipèlag Bismarck]] [[de:Bismarck-Archipel]] [[et:Bismarcki saarestik]] [[el:Αρχιπέλαγος του Βίσμαρκ]] [[es:Archipiélago Bismarck]] [[eo:Bismarkoj]] [[fr:Archipel Bismarck]] [[gl:Arquipélago Bismarck]] [[id:Kepulauan Bismarck]] [[it:Arcipelago di Bismarck]] [[lt:Bismarko salynas]] [[nl:Bismarck-archipel]] [[ja:ビスマルク諸島]] [[no:Bismarckarkipelet]] [[pl:Archipelag Bismarcka]] [[pt:Arquipélago de Bismarck]] [[ru:Архипелаг Бисмарка]] [[sr:Бизмарков архипелаг]] [[fi:Bismarckinsaaret]] [[sv:Bismarckarkipelagen]] [[uk:Бісмарка архіпелаг]] [[zh:俾斯麦群岛]]