Guadalcanal, island of the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the biggest island of the free territory of Solomon Islands. It has a zone of 6,500 sq km (2,500 sq mi). The volcanic Kavo Mountains, which arrive at a most extreme tallness of 2,400 m (8,000 ft) above ocean level, expand the length of the island, which is generally forested. The central town is Honiara, capital of Solomon Islands.
Guadalcanal was visited by Spanish pilots in the sixteenth century. It was added by the British in 1893. The island was the site of overwhelming battling between United States and Japanese powers during World War II (1939-1945).
The Japanese involved the Solomons in January 1942. On August 7, U.S. Marines arrived on Guadalcanal in the first of the land and/or water capable strikes against Japanese-held positions in the Pacific.
The marines got and held Henderson Field on the island despite harsh ground, ocean, and air assaults by the Japanese. Battling proceeded in the wildernesses of Guadalcanal until February 9, 1943, when the U.S. Armed force and Marine Forces verified the island against Japanese opposition. Nonstop maritime commitment between the Japanese and Americans were fended off Guadalcanal.
