Guadalcanal (ˌɡwɑːdəlkəˈnæl; indigenous name: Isatabu) is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of the Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second-largest by population (after Malaita). The island is mainly covered in dense tropical rainforest and has a mountainous hinterland.
Guadalcanal was first charted by Westerners during the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in 1568. The name comes from the village of Guadalcanal, in the province of Seville, in Andalusia, Spain, birthplace of Pedro de Ortega Valencia, a member of Mendaña's expedition.
During 1942 and 1943, it was the scene of the Guadalcanal campaign and saw bitter fighting between Japanese and U.S. troops. The Americans were ultimately victorious. At the end of World War II, Honiara, on the north coast of Guadalcanal, became the new capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and later the capital of independent nation of Solomon Islands.
Guadalcanal is the largest island in Solomon Islands, with a total land area of , and has a population of 155,605 people, making it the second-most populous island in the country after Malaita. Mount Popomanaseu is the island's highest point and the highest in Solomon Islands, with an elevation of above sea level. The Mbokokimbo River is the island's longest river, with a total length of .
List of peaks in Guadalcanal by elevation
Mount Popomanaseu –
Mount Makarakomburu –
Mount Tanareirei –
Mount Namolava –
Makaratanggoe –
Mount Latinarau –
Mount Kaichui –
Mount Vatuchichi –
Mount Tambunanguu –
Mount Tohasa –
Mount Pinau –
Mount Nasuha –
Mount Tatuve –
Mount Ngalighombe –
Mount Vatupochau –
Mount Kemau –
Mount Vatunjae –
Mount Chaunapaho –
Mount Tingge Tingge –
Chupu Tambu –
Mount Hanihanikaro –
Mount Vatu Horoi –
Lumulumuchichi –
Mount Lambuhila –
Mount Manuchuma –
Mount Vatutora –
Mount Rauramba –
Mount Vausu –
Mount Vuro –
Mount Taluva –
Mount Gallego –
Mount Popori –
Mount Valivalisi –
Mount Na Vatu –
Mount Tughuruloki –
Mount Mbelapoke –
Mount Vungana –
Mount Esperance –
List of longest rivers by length
Mbokokimbo River –
Lungga River –
Mbalisuna River –
Mberande River –
Mongga River –
Itina River –
Aola River –
Simiu River –
Rere River –
Kombito River –
Matanikau River –
Koloula River –
The island has been settled since at least 4500–2500 BC based on archaeological finds at Poha Cave and Vatuluma Posovi.