Solomon Islands
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Utupua Island, Solomon Islands
Temotu Province
Utuapua Island is situated 70 km SE of Santa Cruz Island and 43 km NW of Vanikoro in the eastern Solomons.
The island is surrounded by fringing reef a couple of km offshore. The island covers an area of 69 sq km, and had a population of 848 at last census in 1999.
An anchorage is found at Basilisk Harbour. Opposite the passage into the harbour is a fringing reef littered with large blocks of dead coral. There are volcanic pebbles present on the reef brought to the surface by crabs. Utupua Island is subsiding as shown by drowned river valleys. There is evidence of tilting of the island to the north in recent times.
Utupua Island is volcanic in origin. There are four main peaks, two in the east and Mt Royal (1241 ft) and Mt Arthur (922 ft) in the west. On the north side of Basilisk Harbour are resistant outcrops of lava with a dip 20 deg to the west.
There are 7 villages evenly located around the coast. A clinic is situated at Asumbua village on the northern entrance to Basilisk Harbour. The NW side of the island contains the wreck of mission ship Faupu from 1971.
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