- Louisiade Archipelago
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Island group, Papua New Guinea, southeast of New Guinea.Stretching for more than 100 mi (160 km), it occupies 10,000 sq mi (26,000 sq km) of the South Pacific Ocean. It has nearly 100 islands; the largest are Misima, Tagula, and Rossel. It was visited by the Spanish in 1606 and was named after Louis XV of France in 1768. Occupied by Japanese forces in 1942, the islands are near the site of the Battle of the Coral Sea.
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island group of Papua New Guinea, 125 miles (200 km) southeast of the island of New Guinea. Stretching for more than 100 miles (160 km), it occupies 10,000 square miles (26,000 square km) of the southwestern Pacific and has a land area of approximately 690 square miles (1,790 square km). Of the nearly 100 islands, the largest—Tagula (Sud-est), Misima, and Rossel—are volcanic, mountainous, and fringed with reefs, but most are small coral formations. The archipelago was visited by the Spanish navigator Luis Vaez de Torres in 1606, but it is believed that Chinese and Malay sailors may have visited the archipelago some time earlier. It was named (1768) by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville for Louis XV of France. Later visitors included Adm. Bruni d'Entrecasteaux (1793) and Capt. Owen Stanley (1849). Occupied by Japanese forces in 1942, the islands are near the site of the Battle of the Coral Sea.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
