Samarai Islands
The Samarai Islands archipelago, part of the larger Louisiade Archipelago, is located southeast of mainland New Guinea island, within the nation of Papua New Guinea. Geography. The archipelago consists of: 4 larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs; and 30 smaller coral islands. The islands stretch over more than , and spread over an ocean area of , between the Solomon Sea to the north and the Coral Sea to the south. The aggregate land area of the islands is about , with Basilaki Island being the largest. Logea Island, Samarai Island and Sariba Island lie closest to mainland New  Guinea, while the Kitai Group lies further east. The entire archipelago is within the Bwanabwana Rural LLG (Local Level Government), a part of the Samarai-Murua District in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The seat of the Bwanabwana Rural LLG is Samarai, the population center of the Samarai Islands archipelago. History. Malay and Chinese sailors may have visited the islands before European explorers. The islands most likely first sighted by Europeans in 1606, by Luis Váez de Torres. Louis Antoine de Bougainville named them the Louisiades in 1768 for King Louis XV of France. European stops were also  paid by Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1793, and Captain Owen Stanley in 1849. Climate. The islands have a moist tropical climate, and are largely covered with tropical moist broadleaf forests.