Ontong Java Atoll

Ontong Java Atoll, formerly Lord Howe Islands, atoll in the country of Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean, 160 miles (257 km) north of Santa Isabel Island. A large coral formation measuring some 20 miles (32 km) by 50 miles (80 km), the atoll was visited by the Dutch navigator Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1643 and was renamed Lord Howe Islands by Capt. John Hunter of the British Navy in 1791. Passages through the encircling reef into its lagoon are difficult. Its Polynesian inhabitants trade in copra. The largest islet and site of the principal settlement is Luangiua.