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East Rennell
| Site number: | 854 |
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| Type of site: | Natural Heritage in danger | |
| Date of Inscription: | 1998 | |
| Location: | Melanesia, Solomon Islands, Southernmost of the Solomon Islands, Rennell and Bellona Province | |
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| Description: | Making up the southern third of Rennell Island in the western Pacific, East Rennell is the southernmost island in the Solomon Island group. Rennell is the world’s largest raised coral atoll (86 km long x 15 km wide). The inscribed site embraces roughly 37,000 ha as well as a marine area reaching 3 nautical miles to sea. The Lake Tegano, as the former lagoon on the atoll and the largest within the insular Pacific, is a major feature of the island. The 15,500 ha saltwater lake contains countless rugged limestone islands and endemic species. A dense forest covers Rennell, with a canopy averaging 20 m in height. The site is a true natural laboratory for scientific study, especially together with the strong climatic effects of common cyclones. The site is under routine land ownership and supervision. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. | |
| East Rennell is the southern portion of Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands which is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site is unique because it is the largest coral atoll in the world and contains many endemic species. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. | ||
| Source: | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/854 | |
| Reference: | 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page. | |