Choiseul Island
Choiseul is a large volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean in the northwest of the Solomon Islands archipelago. The island has an area of 2,970.7 km² and its highest point, Mount Maetambe, is 1,067 meters above sea level and is a long-extinct volcano. The surface of Choiseul Island is partly covered with sandy beaches, the rest is covered with dense tropical thickets, valleys and mountain ranges. In some places, the shores are fringed by wide coral reefs. The climate on Choiseul is humid tropical. The island was discovered in 1568 by Spanish navigator Alvaro Mendaña de Neyra, who named it San Marcos. The traveler, however, did not land on it. In 1768, Choiseul was rediscovered by French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville, who named the island after French Foreign Minister Etienne François Choiseul.
