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.
During and , it was the scene of the Guadalcanal campaign and saw bitter fighting between Japanese and U. The Americans were ultimately victorious. Guadalcanal is the largest island in Solomon Islands , with a total land area of 5, km 2 2, sq mi , and has a population of , 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 7, ft 2, m above sea level.
The Mbokokimbo River is the island's longest river, with a total length of The island has been settled since at least — BC based on archaeological finds at Poha Cave and Vatuluma Posovi. European settlers, whalers, and missionaries began to arrive in the 18th and 19th centuries. With these outsiders also arrived foreign institutions such as forced labour. Beginning during the s, about 60, natives from many parts of the Solomon Islands were indentured and sent to Australia or Fiji by British authorities to work on plantations.
This system continued into the s. Germany established a protectorate over the northern Solomons in , while in , the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was proclaimed, which included the island of Guadalcanal.
By the early 20th century, large agricultural plantations specialising in copra , run mainly by Australians, were established in the region. Guadalcanal was not seriously affected by World War I. The Japanese then began to expand into the western Pacific, occupying many islands in an attempt to build a defensive ring around their conquests and threaten the lines of communication from the United States to Australia and New Zealand.
