Green Islands
- STS102-715-7
- 13 March 2001
- 04:59 UTC
The Green Islands (Nissan Islands) lie 63 km northwest of Buka-Bougainville, 58 km southeast of the Feni Islands (see panoramic image) and 110 km east of New Ireland. They are part of the island arc system that emerges from the northern end of the Solomon chain and runs parallel to New Ireland for over 600 km. The group is composed of two units: Nissan and Pinipel separated by around 2 km.
Nissan (at left in the image) is a raised atoll-like structure (measuring 15 km in length and with a maximum width of 8 km) composed of several islands that enclose a central lagoon of 20 to 60 m in depth. Only the main island of Nissan (which lends its name to the group) is visible in this image, wrapping around the north, east, south and southwest sides of the formation. The smaller islands of Barahun and Sirot are located on the northwest side — formed where the South, Middle and North Channels connect the lagoon waters with those of the open ocean. At the lagoon centre lies the small islet of Hon. The seaward side of the islands are lined with low cliffs of up to 60 m in height.
