Salomon Islands
- ISS002-E-6804
- 06 June 2001
- 11:11 UTC
The Salomon Islands are a small atoll formation of the northern Chagos Archipelago, located 24 km east from Peros Banhos atoll and 208 km north from Diego Garcia. The atoll measures 9 km in length (northeast to southwest) and is up to 5 km across, consisting of a near continuous reef rim — broken only in the northern corner by the Baie de Salomon — that encloses a deep central lagoon.
Upon the reef top there are 11 islands with a combined land area of 5 km². The 5 largest islands range in size from 0.5 km² to a little over 1 km² (Île Anglaise, Île Boddam, Île Fouquet, Île de la Passe, and Île Takamaka) with the remaining 6 landmasses being tiny islets of a few hectares in area (Île du Sel, Île Diable, Île Jacobin, Île Mapou, Île Poule, and Île Sepulture). The southwest corner and west side has the largest islands, with Île Boddam covering an area of 1.08 km² and Île Anglaise at around 1 km².
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
