Florida Islands 1713177 211645749 2008-05-11T12:06:57Z Thijs!bot 1392310 robot Adding: [[ja:フロリダ諸島]] {{ otheruses4|the island group in Solomon Islands|other uses|Florida (disambiguation)}}{{ distinguish|Flores}} {{unreferenced|date=February 2008}} [[Image:NggelaSolomons.png|thumb|250px|Map of the Florida Islands]] The '''Florida Islands''' (or '''Nggela Islands''') are a small island group in the [[Central Province (Solomon Islands)|Central Province]] of the [[Solomon Islands]], a nation in the western [[Pacific Ocean]]. Among the more important islands of the Florida grouping are '''Nggela Sule''', [[Tulagi]], [[Gavutu]] and [[Tanambogo]]. The name Florida Island itself is also used to refer to Nggela Sule, the largest of the group. ==History== The Florida Islands group is north of the more famous island of [[Guadalcanal]], the scene of the [[Battle of Guadalcanal]] during [[World War II]]; however, Nggela Sule itself was garrisoned by the [[Japan|Japanese]] in April, [[1942]] in connection with their efforts to establish a [[seaplane]] base on neighboring Gavutu. On [[August 7]] of the same year, the [[United States]] [[US Marine Corps|Marines]] landed on the island to provide cover for the assault on neighboring Tulagi. Florida Island would never become as famous as Guadalcanal, although it did serve as an important base of operations for the US war effort in the Pacific for the duration of the war. Following the American liberation of the island from the Japanese, it became the site of a US seaplane base. The island subsequently served as a watering point for the [[US Navy]], diverting water from an underground source on the island. {{Solomons-geo-stub}} {{Solomon Islands}} {{coor title dm|9|00|S|160|10|E|region:SB_type:isle}} [[Category:Islands of the Solomon Islands]] [[Category:Archipelagoes]] [[es:Islas Florida]] [[fr:Îles Florida]] [[gl:Florida (illa)]] [[he:איי נגלה]] [[nl:Florida-eilanden]] [[ja:フロリダ諸島]] [[no:Florida-øyene]] [[pt:Ilhas Florida]] [[sv:Floridaöarna]]